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'"COMPENDIUM MALEFICARUM DE INCANTATIONE VENERIS ILLUSORUM"'An aged alchemist sits with a volume entitled Compendium Maleficarum spread open before him, surrounded by symbols of the black arts, of the fall of man, and of erotic temptation. Before him, the unblemished figure of a saintly lady, conjured to life through his incantation, emerges from a painting, disrobing herself for his pleasure.Made by Felicien Rops after own design.Medium: Etching with vernis mou and aquatint on Simili Japon paper paper.Sheet size: 32.5 x 21.5 cm (12.8 x 8.46 inch). Image size: 20.5 x 31 cm. (8.07 x 12.2 inch).FÉLICIEN ROPS, INCANTATION, ALCHEMY, MAGIC, ESOTERIC, 1888, EROTIC, AQUATINT, RARE PRINT | PCO-EXPO-489BACKGROUND INFORMATIONRare 1888 etching with later copies attributed to Albert Bertrand (1909 edition).Biography engraver: Felicien Rops (1833-1898) was a Belgian artist from Namur and died in Essonnes/France. He was a painter, draftsman, engraver, etcher and lithographer. Enjoyed private education at home. He took lessons at the Academy in Namur under the direction of F. Marinus. He then went to study at the University of Brussels. Was in contact with exiled French intellectuals in Brussels. His first lithographs were created in 1852. Training in the Atelier Libre Saint-Luc, together with C. Meunier, Ch. De Groux and L. Artan (1854-1857). Founded the satirical weekly magazine Uylenspiegel (1856-1862), to which Ch. De Coster cooperated. He also contributed to the student magazine Crocodile (1853-1859). He was married from 1857 to 1874 to Charlotte Polet de Faveaux. He settled back in Namur in 1857, often stayed in Paris from 1868 and settled there definitively in 1874. He was called 'le beau Fély'. The seamstresses Amélie and Léontine Duluc became his mistresses. Léontine became the mother of Claire Rops, who married the writer Eugène Demolder. Dwelt in literary circles, where he met Ch. Baudelaire, J.K. Huysmans and J. Peladan met. Traveled a lot. His drawings, his lithographs and especially his etchings, for which he applied completely new techniques, were an outlet for his aggressive inspiration, which did away with conformism, the morals of his time and politics. He was especially fascinated by woman, who were usually seductive, sometimes perverted or as a femme fatale in countless etchings. Some well-known plates: Enterrement du pays Wallon (1863), Pornokratès (1878) and the series Sataniques (1883) and for Barbey d'Aurevilly the series Diaboliques. Became friends with A. Rassenfosse in 1886. Pseudonyms by F.R. used on some etchings and lithographs: Niederkorn, Jules Clarence, Lesly William, Vriel Eugène, Vriel Jules, Spoller, Wehr Heinrich, Marc Bruno. As a painter, he realized (Maas) landscapes, marines, coastal views in the line of Th. Baron. He came to a spontaneous impressionism. Around 1860-1870 he mostly painted characters, portraits of women or women in their finery. After 1870, the first landscapes appeared in nature. Working in France, his color palette brightened. Around 1875-1879 he often painted on the North Sea: dyke, beach, harbour, dunes. In 1868 he was co-founder of the Société libre des Beaux-Arts, and in 1875 of the Société Internationale des Aquafortistes, was also a member of the Group Les XX (1886-1893). Work in the Museums in Brussels, Antwerp, Liège, Namur (F. Ropsmuseum).Etching with vernis mou & aquatint on simili japon paper. Condition: very good, given age. Clean edges, deep dark impression, well-preserved sheet condition. General age-related toning and/or occasional minor defects from handling. Please study scan carefully.
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