Dimensions: 29.5 x 22 cm (bound dimensions)
Piece 65, published in Berlin in 1919, 32 heliogravures inside (complete set) and title pages
Biography
Félicien Rops was a Belgian artist who became famous as a master of printmaking, a prolific illustrator, and a caricaturist. He is known for his controversial works, which explored erotic, occult, political, and existential themes. His works caused scandals while simultaneously fascinating viewers with their depth of expression and technical perfection. Rops is also considered a pioneer of Belgian comic art. Even as a young man, he received a thorough education in the visual arts and literature. In 1851, he moved to Brussels, where he began studying law but quickly abandoned his studies to pursue drawing at the Académie de Saint-Luc. Although he did not move permanently to Paris until 1874, from the early 1860s onward he maintained close ties with the city’s decadent artistic circle, which had a significant influence on the development of his individual style. Rops was a close friend and collaborator of many prominent writers and artists of the French fin de siècle, including Charles Baudelaire, who considered him the finest Belgian artist of his time.
