La province de Namur, au coeur de votre quotidien
...mes vastes horizons et la mer nacrée à nulle autre pareille...
Lettre de Rops à A. Rassenfosse, 1891.
Je respecte toutes les opinions, même les miennes
Félicien Rops
1833-1898
Exposition du 20/10/2018 au 17/02/2019
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Located in a former mansion house in a pedestrian area of old Namur, the museum presents the life and work of Félicien Rops, from his beginnings as a caricaturist to his satanic and demonic creations.
Félicien Rops was born in 1833 and died in 1898, and so lived through the 19th century, a period of upheaval marked by industrial progress, changing customs and the modernity that was give rise to symbolism in art. “I spend my time containing myself and I have a furious desire to smash this straitjacket of conventions which civilised societies use to restrain primitive natures. […] To go far away from the world 'comme il faut' to finally live my life in excitement and movement”1. The museum is intended as a place where this extraordinary temperament is expressed, devoting almost 700 m² to the artist's paintings, drawings, engravings and letters.
In addition to the permanent Félicien Rops collection, the museum organises temporary exhibitions several times a year on themes as varied as the 19th century and its artists, ancient or contemporary graphic art or particular aspects of Rops’s work or life.
In accordance with the instructions of the ICOM (International Council of Museums), the Rops museum develops missions of conservation, acquisition, research and mediation, specific educational events and original activities for all segments of the population. Do not hesitate to consult the news or the diary.
The museum has also undertaken a number of large-scale scientific projects such as publishing the artist's correspondence on line on www.ropslettres.be (over 4,000 letters indexed so far, over half of which are currently available) and placing its inventory on line (almost 3,000 engravings and around 500 drawings and paintings. (Under preparation).
The museum won the people's choice award in 2007 and the museum award in 2008 and 2014, presented by Openbaar Kunstbezit and Linklaters. It has been recognised as a Category A museum by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation since 2008 and received the Walloon Region Quality Destination Label in 2016.
1Letter from Félicien Rops to Emile Hermant, 1863. www.ropslettres.be, publication No 1586
