Flirt
1894
Medium
Soft varnish etching ("vernis mou") and drypoint on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 5.7 × 12.7 cm (2 1/4 × 5 in.); Plate: 5.9 × 13.2 cm (2 3/8 × 5 1/4 in.); Sheet: 23.6 × 18.2 cm (9 5/16 × 7 3/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
49375
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Félicien Rops 1894 etching *Flirt* captures the playful yet provocative spirit of fin-de-siècle Europe. A Belgian artist celebrated for his Symbolist and Decadent imagery, Rops often explored themes of desire, social ritual, and the modern woman with a sharp, sometimes satirical eye. Created at the height his international reputation, this small print invites viewers into an intimate moment whose very title hints at fleeting romance and subtle tension. The work’s delicate technique enhances its charm. Rops combined soft-ground etching, known as *vernis mou*, with drypoint to achieve velvety textures and crisp, velvety lines on ivory wove paper. The resulting surface feels almost tactile, allowing subtle gradations that evoke fabric, skin, and atmosphere within a remarkably compact plate measuring just over five by thirteen centimeters. Today housed in the Art Institute of Chicago’s Prints and Drawings collection, *Flirt* exemplifies how late-nineteenth-century printmakers turned modest formats into powerful vehicles for psychological suggestion. Its modest scale encourages close looking, rewarding the viewer with the quiet intrigue of a single, suggestive encounter.
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...