Félicien Rops (1833-1898) Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867)

Félicien Rops (1833-1898) Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) Les Epaves Amsterdam: À l'Enseigne du Coq [Brussels: Poulet-Malassis], 1866 12mo (18.8 × 12 cm), half-brick calf with corners, top edge gilt. Binding by Louis Guétant. The edition includes 6 condemned pieces of the Fleurs du Mal and 17 new poems by Charles Baudelaire. Illustration: 1 etching by Félicien Rops on Chine paper as the frontispiece; it is accompanied by an explanatory page printed in red on the same paper. From an edition of 260 copies. One of 250 copies on Hollande laid paper (No. 112). The texts illustrated by Félicien Rops constitute an anthology of symbolist literature. In 1866, the Belgian artist created a frontispiece for Charles Baudelaire's Les Epaves. The central motif of the engraving is the tree of life nourished by the seven deadly sins: this illustration introduces the theme of the skeleton in his work.