Affiche voor een expositie met werk van Felicien Rops 1896

Curator: So, here we have an intriguing affiche from 1896, created by Imprimerie Crété for an exhibition of Félicien Rops' work. It lists the mediums to be showcased: paintings, drawings, lithographs, and more. Editor: Wow, what strikes me first is its almost dreamlike quality. It’s both playful and a little suggestive, with that reclining figure and the mischievous cherubs. Is this poster trying to tell us something about the nature of Rops' art? Curator: Absolutely. The printing house, Crété, clearly wanted to signal the themes and character often associated with Rops. The poster itself is a lithograph and evokes a bohemian world, think about the growing popularity of printmaking at the time, allowing art to reach wider audiences, not just the elite. Editor: It’s interesting how the commercial nature of the poster intersects with the avant-garde sensibility of Rops. Look at the colours, too, almost faded watercolours – it's like a decadent memory! Do you think that it plays on consumer desire to own such risqué, unconventional pieces? Curator: That's a keen observation. The pastel shades and almost ethereal treatment are not accidental. Lithography offered a cheaper, mass-produced approach compared to paintings, so the artistic impression becomes democratic. You're touching on how this work operates on many levels: It's advertising and artwork simultaneously. It aims to elevate the everyday consumer experience. Editor: This is something so interesting, I am sensing a deliberate act of seduction in all this... inviting us into Rops’ sensual and, perhaps, slightly dangerous world. Looking closer at her stockings and high heel. She definitely is a character... Curator: She represents the *femme fatale,* the captivating, yet destructive woman so prevalent in Symbolist art. But I want to circle back: mass production like this democratized visual culture while arguably exploiting labour within the printing trades. It also gave women more chance for being considered as important figures, with such advertisement. Editor: Exactly, and perhaps questioning our very own impulse of enjoying something, made accessible but produced in exploited manner... I'm going to be haunted now every time that I see a poster. Curator: And maybe this will make us more aware of where and how artworks have come to exist. Editor: I do hope so...