Félicien Rops - Painter

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

Although his ability as a painter has received far too little recognition, he nonetheless had a captivating style, often very talented. Although in his paintings he remains faithful to the theme of the woman, to portraying the customs of the time, he does this in an infinitely more serene way. Far removed from the femme fatale which he portrays in a very intellectual manner in his etchings, she rediscovers a taste for everyday life, she finds complete peace of mind. A lover of the great outdoors, Rops paints the countryside in a semi-impressionistic style. Sensitive to changes in the weather and surroundings, he conjures up Nature for us through his travels: the North Sea, the Ardennes, Brabant, the area between the Sambre and the Meuse, Spain and Scandanavia ...

Whenever life is harsh to me, I go the forests and the beaches, I take refuge like a wounded animal and Nature cradles me, watches over me and restores me... (Rops, 1891). Peace, calm and serenity are uppermost in his paintings, far removed from the frenzy and perversity of the city.

In Plage de Heyst (Heyst Beach), Rops experimented with the new technique of the Impressionists; the palette becomes lighter, the artist's touch more subtle, atmosphere becomes most important.

The Paysage de Scandinavie (Landscape of Scandinavia) is a remarkable sketch, full of modern influences. The treatment of subjects as volume allows shapes to appear which dissolve in a liquid atmosphere and give a hazy impression. Light, water and sky are the essential elements of this picture.

Dimanche à Bougival, carried out in the Paris region is full of lightness, the material is fluid, the colours delicate. Here Rops paints the portraits of Léontine and Aurélie Duluc, both dressmakers who became his friends.

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