Cy-devant (Vieux jeu)

1871–1898

Travels across Europe and North Africa

During his Paris years Rops travels extensively throughout Europe — from capital cities and art centres to salmon fishing in Norway and Sweden and ventures into the Hungarian back country — and also to Spain and North Africa.

1895–1896

Frontispieces for Mallarmé and Verlaine

For Stéphane Mallarmé’s “Poésies” Rops creates the frontispiece “The Lyre” (1895), and for Paul Verlaine’s “Chair” (“Flesh”) the frontispiece “Parallelism” (1896).

15 June 1896

The review “La Plume” devotes an issue to Rops

The literary review “La Plume” publishes a special tribute issue (no. 172) devoted exclusively to Rops, in which Puvis de Chavannes, Huysmans, Octave Mirbeau, Joséphin Péladan and José-Maria de Heredia praise his work; the illustrations to “Les Diaboliques” and the “Les Sataniques” series are singled out.

July 1896

A will in favour of the Duluc sisters

Anticipating legal challenges from his estranged wife Charlotte, his son Paul and his judge father-in-law, and with his health slowly deteriorating, Rops leaves everything to the Duluc sisters; later, on a doctor’s orders, he spends some time in the south of France, but it brings little relief. The disputes do arise: the sisters successfully resist Paul’s attempts to remove his father from their care, and compromises are reached on other matters.