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Belgian Artist's Erotic Art Still Shocks Today
4 Mar
Summary
- Félicien Rops' 'Pornocrates' features a blindfolded woman with a pig.
- His shocking art depicted witches, voyeurs, and scandalous women.
- An exhibition at Kunsthaus Zurich examines Rops' provocative oeuvre.
An exhibition titled 'Laboratory of Lust' at Kunsthaus Zurich is exploring the controversial oeuvre of Belgian artist Félicien Rops. Rops, active in the late 19th century, created drawings, etchings, prints, and paintings that were often laced with satanic elements and depicted scandalous subjects, including his infamous work 'Pornocrates.' His art, which featured naked witches, voyeurs, and courtesans, aimed to shock audiences, a sentiment still echoed by contemporary viewers.
Born in Namur, Belgium, in 1833, Rops defied his privileged background to embrace art and a bohemian lifestyle in Paris. His illustrative work for authors like Baudelaire evolved into fantastical depictions of the 'demimonde,' whom he called Ropsiennes. Rops' personal life mirrored his art, marked by unconventional relationships and a successful career as Paris's highest-paid illustrator by the mid-1870s. He died in 1898, having received the Légion d'honneur.
