Images of contemporary artists in the novel ‘The white monkey’ by John Galsworthy

The article analyzes the image system in Galsworthy’s novel The White Monkey with a focus on aesthetic directions of modernism and decadence as presented in the text. The novel creates images depicting representatives of new trends in music and visual arts. The study takes into account the names of the artists mentioned by Galsworthy himself and their relationship with real artists. The coexistence of aesthetic concepts in the artistic world of the novel was a response to the struggles in English culture in the first third of the 20th century. Intergenerational conflict is exacerbated by the clash of aesthetic concepts. It is shown how the work of fictional Vertiginist artists (Frederic Wilmer, Claude Brains) reflects Vorticism. The Vorticists identified themselves as the artists of the future, like the Italian Futurists and Russian Cubo-Futurists. The Vertiginist painter Frederic Wilmer is compared to the realist painter Hubert Marsland, whose pictures resemble the works of the Dutch painter Matthijs Maris and the French painter Gustave Courbet. The role of Claude Brains and his works in the inner world of the novel is connected with the use of modernist techniques in style and narration - fragmentation, montage, speed and movement of time. Aubrey Green’s work reflects the perception of the traditions of the Renaissance, Impressionism, Cubism, Art Nouveau graphics, Art Deco. Galsworthy depicts Vertiginists satirically, showing his preference for the character of Aubrey Green with with his mix of different styles. The model Victorine Bicket resembles E. Manet’s model Victo-rine Meurent. In contrast to the modern art deco trend, Victorine may become a key artistic type of the era, as the female images of Aubrey Beardsley and Charles Dana once became such types. Galsworthy does not unequivocally reject contemporary art. Through the relationship between the past and the present, he expresses his attitude towards contemporary artists.