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The collection of Félicien Rops letters and other material, circa 1864 - circa 1910.
WIL.001.001
WIL.001.001
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Table of contents
Title: The
Michael G. Wilson collection of Félicien Rops letters and other material
Identifier/Call Number: WIL.001.001
Contributing Institution:
Los Angeles County Museum of Art Balch Art Research Library
Language of Material:
French
Container: 1-5
Physical Description:
5.2 Linear feet
5 boxes.
Date: circa 1864 - circa 1910
creator:
Wilson, Michael G., 1942-
The materials in this collection showed little arrangement reflective of original order, apart from the folder of manuscript
materials by Henry Detouche. To facilitate access, the materials were arranged in series according to their type:
Series 1: Manuscript materials (chronological): Draft letters and notes by Henry Detouche; Autograph letters and manscript
material.
Series 2: Excerpted published material. The titles of the items in this series are formulated as follows: article title; publication
title; author (first last); city of publication; pages. The articles are then arranged in alphabetical order by author's last
name.
Series 3: Complete journals. The journals are arranged in alphabetical order by title.
Series 4: Auction Catalogues. The titles of items in this series are formulated as follows: title of catalogue with collection
name. location; date; name of commissaires-priseurs; name of expert. The catalogues are then arranged chronologically.
Series 5: Booksellers' Bulletins (arranged chronologically).
Series 6: Bound materials and books. The bound volumes and books have been catalogued separately and placed in Special Collections.
Collection donor Michael G. Wilson is best known as the producer and screenwriter of films in the James Bond series (per Prints
and Drawings curator Naoko Takahatake). Wilson, born in New York City in 1942, obtained degrees in electrical engineering
and law and later joined the film business of his stepfather, Albert R. Broccoli. In 2008 he was made an officer of the Order
of the British Empire. In addition to his work in film, Wilson is a noted collector and expert in nineteenth century photography,
and co-authored the book
Pictorialism in California with Dennis Read.
About Félicien Rops
Born on July 7, 1833, in Namur, Belgium, Rops moved to Brussels at the age of 20 where he enrolled in the Atelier Libre de
St Luc. Working at first primarily in lithography, Rops’ artistic career began with his caricatures of political figures published
in a student paper,
Le Crocodile, and later in a satirical weekly he founded,
L’Uylenspiegel. By 1865 Rops had mostly ceased working in lithography; in 1862 he learned etching and traveled to Paris to study the technique
with leading practitioners, Félix Bracquemond and Jules Jacquemart.
In 1868, along with fifteen other Belgian artists, Rops helped establish the
Société de l’Art Libre. The Société was formed to promote artistic freedom and to advance the Realist movement, in reaction against the official
Brussels Salon. The Société published a bi-monthly journal and held its own exhibitions. The following year Rops created the
Société Internationale des Aquafortistes; members of the Société included Rops' fellow printer and collaborator, François Nys. Later, after the dissolution of these
two groups, Rops joined another group of Belgian artists calling themselves
Les XX, formed in 1883 by Octave Maus. Les XX held annual exhibitions featuring their own work along with the works of artists invited
from outside Belgium. Rops exhibited his painting "Pornocrates" to a scandalous reception at the
Salon des XX in 1886.
During the years 1864 to 1871, Rops created engraved illustrations for publisher Auguste Poulet-Malassis. Through this collaboration
Rops came to befriend Charles Baudelaire who commissioned him to create the frontispiece to his
Les Epaves in 1866. Beginning in the mid-1860s Rops also produced illustrations for the Gay and Doucé printing house, including illustrations
for a minuscule edition of “Les Bas-Fonds de la Société.”
Baudelaire’s influence can be found in several major themes of Rops’ work, including the representations of death and disease
in a female form. Rops was well known for his depictions of erotic scenes, often incorporating satyrs and devils. His work
earned him the admiration of many of the most prominent Symbolist authors and he was reputed to be highly paid for illustrations
of their work. He designed ten illustrations for Barbey d’Aurévilly’s short story collection,
Les Diaboliques, in 1879, which were reproduced later in a separate edition and again in larger format. In 1882 Rops began work on a series
of soft-ground etchings, never completed, called
Les Sataniques.
During his lifetime Rops was celebrated for his work as an etcher. In 1896 the journal
La Plume devoted an issue to Rops and a retrospective of his work was mounted at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris. Another exhibition followed
later that year in Brussels. Rops died on August 23, 1898 at his home in Essonnes, France.
Biographical information was compiled from the following sources:
"Photography Expert Michael G. Wilson Becomes an Art Fund Fund Trustee."
Artdaily.org, May 10, 2010, http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=37948&int_modo=1 (Accessed 7 November 2011).
British Museum, "François Nys," The British Museum, http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx
(Accessed 22 November 2011).
Hoffman, Edith. “Félicien Rops.” In
The Dictionary of Art. Edited by Jane Turner. New York: Macmillan, 1996.
Musée Rops, “Biography of Félicien Rops,” Musée Rops, http://museerops.be/espace/documents/Biographie_Rops_Eng.pdf (Accessed
1 November 2011).
Exteens, Maurice. “ROPS (Félicien).” In
Dictionnaire biographique des artistes contemporains. Edited by René Edouard-Joseph. Paris : Librarie Grund, 1934.
This collection is comprised of manuscript materials, excerpts, journals, auction catalogues, booksellers' bulletins, and
books by Félicien Rops and his contemporaries. Rops, a Belgian engraver, illustrator and painter, is associated with the Belgian
avant-garde and the Symbolists of the late 19th century. Rops gained fame through his use of erotic and Satanic imagery and
his mastery of the Realist style. The materials date from the 1870s to circa 1913.
The series of manuscript materials is divided into two subseries, one containing draft letters and notes for published articles
by Henry Detouche and the other grouping together handwritten notes or letters to and from Rops and others in his circle,
including correspondence on the topic of the purchase and delivery of a printing press in 1876.
Published articles and journals make up the majority of the collection. The series of published material is primarily composed
of articles about or by Rops, excerpted from their parent publications. Many of the journal articles were enclosed or glued
into the journal's original paper covers with surrounding pages removed. The series of complete journals contains periodicals
whose complete contents are intact.
The series of auction sales catalogues documents the many sales held primarily in Paris at the Hôtel Drouot featuring Rops’
work. Some catalogues have been annotated with prices. Similarly, the series of booksellers’ bulletins is comprised of book
or print vendor catalogues, each listing numerous works by Rops for sale. The bound volumes series contains monographs as
well as journal articles that have been bound together.
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
The materials in this collection were donated to LACMA by screenwriter and producer Michael G. Wilson, in association with
his gift to the museum of several hundred prints by Félicien Rops. The Rops prints were accessioned over the span of several
years, from 1979 to 1984.
Contact the Balch Research Library at 323-856-6118 or library@lacma.org for information on publishing or reproducing materials
included in these records. Permission will be granted by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as the owner of the physical
materials, and does not imply permission from the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain all
necessary permissions from the copyright holder.
[Description of item], The Michael G. Wilson Collection of Félicien Rops letters and other material, Los Angeles County Museum
of Art Balch Art Research Library, WIL.001.001.
The materials were transferred into acid-free, buffered folders and containers in October 2011. Some fragile documents were
preservation photocopied. Modern, non-archival folders were discarded. The two books and five volumes of bound material were
catalogued separately and housed in Special Collections.
The manuscript materials were described according to the standards contained in
Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Books), 2007 revision.
Conditions Governing Access note
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment only through the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Balch Art Research
Library. Telephone 323-857-6118 or email library@lacma.org.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Detouche, Henry Julien, 1854-1913
Rops, Félicien, 1833-1898
Art criticism
Art, Belgian--19th century
Auction catalogs
Clippings (information artifacts)
Drafts (documents)
Graphic arts
Journals (periodicals)
Letters (correspondence)
Publications
Sales catalogs
Symbolism (Art movement)