Félicien Rops and his Art

Museums of Namur | Félicien Rops Museum | Exhibition | Guided tour

Over 1000 etchings, 400 paintings and an equal number of drawings have been preserved.

In his etchings and drawings, Félicien Rops portrays his century through the medium of the woman, who moulds and shapes herself to the image of the society in which she lives (Guy de Maupassant).

However, as a painter, Rops concentrated mainly on landscapes. Beaches, mountains, ... from Spain to Scandanavia, from the North Sea to the Seine, his paintings are revitalising and refreshing. Throughout his career he frequently returned to their restorative powers.

The following words were written by Rops to describe his methods:

I just try simply to portray what I feel with my senses and what I see with my eyes, that is my whole artistic theory. I have yet another stubborn idea, to wish to paint scenes and examples which typify this 19th century, that I find so very curious and interesting; the women are as beautiful now as at any other time, the men are still the same. Furthermore, love of violent pleasures, preoccupations with money, petty interests have placed a sinister mask on the faces of most of our contemporaries. As described by Edgar Poe the "instinct of perversity" is written there in capital letters. All of this seems to me to be amusing enough and characteristic enough for artists of good will to try to portray the face of their time.

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