Warrior
1882
Medium
Heliogravure, with drypoint and aquatint, on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 21.2 × 14.8 cm (8 3/8 × 5 7/8 in.); Plate: 21.2 × 14.8 cm (8 3/8 × 5 7/8 in.); Sheet: 45 × 31.8 cm (17 3/4 × 12 9/16 in.)
Classification
photogravure
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
51508
Art Historical Context
Félicien R' *Warrior* (2) is a striking print from the Belgian artist's provocative oeuvre, blending technical innovation with his signature flair for the macabre and symbolic. Rops, a key figure in 19th-century Symbolism the Decadent movement often explored themes of vice, fantasy, and human frailty through intricate prints. This work, housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings department, captures his mastery in heliogravure—a photogravure process that allowed for exquisite tonal depth and fidelity, enhanced here by drypoint's expressive lines and aquatint's velvety texture...
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...