Frontispiece to Les baisers morts
1893
Medium
Soft varnish ("vernis mou") etching, drypoint and roulette in brownish-red on cream wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 10.4 × 6.6 cm (4 1/8 × 2 5/8 in.); Plate: 10.8 × 7.1 cm (4 5/16 × 2 13/16 in.); Sheet: 18.7 × 14 cm (7 3/8 × 5 9/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
131998
Art Historical Context
Félicien Rops, a Belgian artist renowned for his provocative fin-de-siècle etchings, created this *Frontispiece Les baisers morts in 1893. As a key figure in Symbolism andadence, Rops often blendedism with macabre themes, capturing the undercurrents of late th-century European culture. intimate print served as the title illustration for a poetic work evoking "dead," reflecting the era's fascination with mortality,, and the occult amid Belle Époque excess. ed in soft-ground etchingvernis mou), dry, and roulette on cream wove paper, work showcases Rops's mastery ofaglio techniques. Soft-ground ...
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...