Bannisters Gallery

Messalina returning from the Bath, 1897. Creator: Aubrey Beardsley

Messalina returning from the Bath, 1897. Probably intended as an illustration to the VI Satire of Juvenal'. Messalina (died 48 AD) was the wife of the Roman emperor Claudius, and was notorious for her sexual appetite. In the "Sixth Satire", Juvenal describes her nightly excursions from the Imperial Palace to work as a whore in a local brothel. From "The Best of Beardsley" edited by R. A. Walker, [The Bodley Head, London, 1948]

© Shirley Markham Collection/Heritage Images

Staircase to the Chapel and Upper School, 1911. Creator: Unknown

Staircase to the Chapel and Upper School, 1911. Generations of British and foreign aristocracy have been educated at Eton independent boarding school, founded in 1440 by King Henry VI. From "A History of Eton College (1440-1910)", by Sir H. C Maxwell Lyte, K.C.B. [Macmillan and Co. Limited, London, 1911]

© The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Hotel Tassel, 6, Rue Paul-Emile Jansonstraat, Brussels, Belgium, 2015. Artist

The Hotel Tassel, 6, Rue Paul-Emile Jansonstraat, Brussels, Belgium, 2015. The Hotel Tassel is a town house built in 1893-94 by Victor Horta for the Belgian scientist and professor Emile Tassel. It is generally considered as the first true Art Nouveau building, because of its highly innovative plan and its groundbreaking use of materials and decoration. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000

© Alan John Ainsworth / Heritage-Images