Félicien Rops

*La Saltimbanque* is one of the many watercolours produced by the non-conformist Symbolist Félicien Rops, originally from Namur, whilst living in Paris, where he settled in 1874. The unfinished nature of the work is evident in the bold pencil strokes that barely sketch out the setting and in the sporadic touches of colour that bring the scene to life. This preparatory sketch likely gave rise to the plate *Les cabotinages de femmes* in the collection *Cent légers croquis sans prétention pour réjouir les honnêtes gens*, commissioned by the bibliophile Jules Noilly in 1878 and dispersed upon his death. Seated on a rocking horse, the naked street performer wears a distinctive carnival-style bonnet. In her right hand, she holds a sceptre of Folly. This sceptre, also featured in an undated drawing depicting a circus performer and entitled La Folie, echoes Erasmus’s essay, The Praise of Folly, and the tradition of the mad king, which seem to haunt Rops’s work. A liberated woman, fully in control of herself, aware of her powers and assets, particularly her erotic ones; this is one of the favourite subjects of the artist, who was an engraver, draughtsman, painter and illustrator. Whether through the world of the circus, that of prostitution or of alcohol-fuelled destitution, Rops often depicts, in a satirical tone, a marginalised and decadent femininity, at times even satanic. From 1870 onwards, Paris became a circus capital, hosting street performances and even building permanent venues for shows. The colourful and reckless microcosm of the circus world, far removed from the constraints of conventional society, inspired Rops, who devoted several works to it (L’Amour mouché) and even identified with the figure of the street performer. “I shall become a street performer and live with the travelling entertainers.” “[…] when the yellow and blue street performers who had come to juggle in the courtyard of Thozée vanished over the horizon, my heart followed them to distant lands and envied their lot.”

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