Art Institute of Chicago

Modernity

Félicien Rops

Date

1883

Medium

Drypoint on cream wove paper

Culture

Belgium

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The Symbolist artist Félicien Rops created idiosyncratic artworks alongside Gustave Moreau and the writers Charles Baudelaire and Oscar Wilde. In Modernity , a smirking female allegory for Modernism holds a platter bearing the severed head of the Academy. Her pose clearly refers to the story of Salomé, which would have been familiar to most educated viewers of the time. Her attire represents the latest Parisian style. Other examples of highly fashionable hats are worn by figures in the print Hodgepodge , which documents the wildly varying modish designs seen in the streets of Paris.

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