The Story of Venus and Tannhauser

""The Story of Venus and Tannhauser"" is a book written and illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley. It tells the story of Tannhauser, a knight who becomes enamored with the goddess Venus and spends a year in her underground realm. When he returns to the human world, he is rejected by his former love, Elizabeth, who believes he has been unfaithful. Tannhauser then seeks forgiveness from the Pope, who tells him that his sins cannot be absolved unless the papal staff sprouts leaves, which is considered impossible. However, Tannhauser's penitence is eventually accepted when the staff miraculously blooms. The book is a retelling of a medieval German legend and features Beardsley's distinctive black and white illustrations, which are highly stylized and often erotic. It is considered a classic of Art Nouveau and Decadent literature.1927. A romantic novel in which is set forth an exact account of the manner of State held by Madam Venus, Goddess and Meretrix, under the famous Horselberg, and containing the Adventures of Tannhauser in that Palace, his repentance, his journeying to Rome and return to the Loving Mountain. Aubrey Beardsley was one of the most controversial artists of the Art Nouveau era, renowned for his dark and perverse images and the grotesque erotic themes which he explored in his later work. His eroticism is manifest, and must be accepted as simply as the fact that he had auburn hair and long hands.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.