Quelques croquis
1895
Medium
softground etching and drypoint in black on heavy japan paper
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Virginia and Ira Jackson Collection, gift in memory of Virginia H. Jackson
Accession Number
1996.151.137
Art Historical Context
**Quelques croquis (A Few Sketches)**, created by Belgian artist Félicien Rops in 1895, the essence of his late-career mastery in printmaking. Rops, a key figure in the Symbolist Decadent movements of fin-de-siècle Europe, was renowned for his provocative illustrations blending eroticism, fantasy, and the macabre. This work, a softground etching and drypoint black ink on heavy Japan paper, showcases a series of loose, expressive sketches—likely evoking the artist's improvisational genius. Softground etching allowed Rops to imprint delicate textures by pressing textured materials onto the plat...
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...