A Document on the Impotence of Love
1894
Medium
Heliogravure, with soft varnish ("vernis mou") and drypoint, on cream wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 21.6 × 16 cm (8 9/16 × 6 5/16 in.); Plate: 21.6 × 16 cm (8 9/16 × 6 5/16 in.); Sheet: 37 × 28 cm (14 5/8 × 11 1/16 in.)
Classification
photogravure
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
49372
Art Historical Context
Félicien R, a pioneering Belgian artist the fin-de-siècle (1833–189), created *A Document the Impotence of* in 1894 a provocative print that embodies signature blend of eroticism satire, and Symbolist. Rops, often to the Decadent, explored the darker underents of human desire,, and spiritual malaise, Victorian moralities with unflinching candor This work, housed in Art Institute of Chicago's and Drawings Department, captures the's fascination with love's amid societal decay. Printed as aogravure—also known photogravure—a phot intaglio process that yields tonal gradations akin to—Rops enhanced...
About the Artist
Félicien Rops · 1833–1898
Félicien Rops, born Félicien Victor Joseph Rops on July 7, 1833, in Namur, Belgium, to a prosperous textile manufacturing family, displayed prodigious artistic talent from youth. The only child of Nicholas Rops and Sophie Maubile, he received private tutoring until age ten, followed by education at a Jesuit school in Namur (1843–1848), the Athénée Royal de Namur, and the Academy of Fine Arts there...