“Rops has not confined himself, like his predecessors, to rendering the attitudes of bodies swayed by passion, but has elicited from flesh on for the sorrows of fever-stricken souls, and the joys of warped minds; he has painted demonic rapture as other have painted mystical yearnings.” -JK Huysmans-
If Félicien Rops had lived just one century after the one he lived in, he would probably have become a heavy metal musician or at least designed their album covers. He was indeed a unique person and artist that didn’t mind going against the norms when it came to creating what he believed in. His work has been controversial since the day he dared to expose it, and even today many cringe when they see his controversial imagery. But nothing stopped him, not even being challenged to a duel.
Born in 1833 in Namur, Belgium, this artist grew up among the luxuries and comfort of a very wealthy merchant family. Even when he was just a child he felt sick with his society’s severity, so he always found ways to challenge those smothering standards. He attended a Jesuit school where he was acknowledged for his artistic skills. It was then when he found passion in art and decided to make a living with it.
Although he was constantly praised for his work, the stiffness and discipline the school demanded was too much for him (not to mention how tedious he found Catholic education) and decided to quit this school for good. He attended the Royal Athenaeum, where he concluded his professional studies and was encouraged to make a living for himself. He started working as a caricaturist, a job that made him famous.
He first made the illustrations for a school magazine, but soon he was offered other jobs at local magazines. Being a rebellious young man, he found in the pages of these magazines the perfect spotlight to make poignant commentaries on society and religion, two parts of life he always thought to be vicious. And thus began a career filled with controversy, of powerful people condemning him and censoring him for portraying a reality that, despite being true, made them look terrible before the public’s eye.
During this time he focused themes he would explore for the rest of his life. He’s remembered for portraying sex, death, and satanic imagery, and although many found his images despicable and offensive, the fact that he was able to exhibit his pieces and make a living from them also tells us of that craving humanity has always had for those forbidden subjects. Even when he was a very well known artist at the time, his defiance of moral and religious norms made him a sort of cult or underground figure that is not very known today.
Although his work is absolutely anti-Catholic, it doesn’t mean it’s anti-religious. It’s known that he was actually quite obsessed with the supernatural and the occult. He was an avid reader of satanic texts and believed in the power of the Devil, not as it’s portrayed in most Christian faiths, but as a figure with his own flaws and virtues. This, of course, made people see him as a blasphemous and sadistic person, and he actually loved to make them believe that. It’s said that after one of his pieces where he capture the image of a prostitute was backlashed for its realism, he was glad critics were offended by his painting. For him, it was just proof that he was a skillful artist.
Even when he lived and created these pieces more than a hundred years ago, his works have a hint of modernity that makes them relevant still today. One of the amazing things about Rop’s pieces is that they show us how we haven’t changed at all, how everything he criticized and exposed is still happening today, so his work is still too relevant.
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Art is rebellious by nature, and those who went against the norms, show the complexities and true essence of our humanity. If you want to know about those moments in art that were against conventionality, don’t miss these:
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