Sheet with putti and several figures
Medium
Pen and ink and graphite
Dimensions
7-1/4 x 8-1/2 in. (18.4 x 21.6 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Albert Broccoli, 1980
Accession Number
1980.1138.7
Tags
Art Historical Context
Discover the whimsical yet provocative world of Félicien R in this enchanting *Sheet with putti and several figures The Belgian artist (1833–1898), a key figure in Symbolism and fin-de-siècle art, delighted in blending innocence with sensuality. Here, chubby putti—those playful infant cherubs borrowed from Renaissance and Baroque traditions—frolic alongside men and women, captured in a lively compositional sketch. Though the exact date is unknown, it reflects Rops' mastery of the macabre and erotic, often seen in his illustrations for Charles Baudelaire's *Les Fleurs du Mal*. Executed in pen ...
About the Artist
Félicien Rops · 1833–1898
Félicien Rops, born Félicien Victor Joseph Rops on July 7, 1833, in Namur, Belgium, to a prosperous textile manufacturing family, displayed prodigious artistic talent from youth. The only child of Nicholas Rops and Sophie Maubile, he received private tutoring until age ten, followed by education at a Jesuit school in Namur (1843–1848), the Athénée Royal de Namur, and the Academy of Fine Arts there...