Krantenknipsel betreffende Louis Royer Possibly 1894 - 1899

This newspaper clipping, now held in the Rijksmuseum, dates from 1894. It's a mass-produced object, printed with ink on paper, a far cry from the sculptures made by Louis Royer, the man mentioned in the article. The text reflects on Royer’s deathbed pronouncements, where he supposedly declared, "La poésie ne finit pas!" or "Poetry never ends!" What I find fascinating is the contrast between this lofty sentiment and the decidedly unromantic means by which it was disseminated: cheap newsprint, churned out for public consumption. The article itself critiques the sentimentality of Royer's supposed last words, questioning the grand narrative of artistic genius. Consider the labor involved: the typesetting, printing, and distribution, all feeding into a culture of celebrity, even posthumously. This humble artifact, made possible by industrial processes, invites us to consider how art, even at its most supposedly transcendent, is always grounded in the material conditions of its making and reception.