James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor (13 April 1860 – 19 November 1949) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and printmaker, an important influence on

expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

and

surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

who lived in

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

for most of his life. He was associated with the artistic group

Les XX ''Les XX'' ( French; "''Les Vingt''"; ; ) was a group of twenty Belgian painters, designers and sculptors, formed in 1883 by the Brussels lawyer, publisher, and entrepreneur Octave Maus. For ten years, they held an annual exhibition of their ar ...

Biography

Ensor's father, James Frederic Ensor, born in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

parents, was a cultivated man who studied engineering in England and Germany. Ensor's mother, Maria Catherina Haegheman, was Belgian. Ensor himself lacked interest in academic study and left school at the age of fifteen to begin his artistic training with two local painters. From 1877 to 1880, he attended the

Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Brussels (french: Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts - École supérieure des Arts de la Ville de Bruxelles (ARBA-ESA), nl, Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten van Brussel), is an art school established in B ...

, where one of his fellow students was Fernand Khnopff. Ensor first exhibited his work in 1881. From 1880 until 1917, he had his studio in the attic of his parents' house. His travels were very few: three brief trips to France and two to the Netherlands in the 1880s, and a four-day trip to London in 1892. During the late 19th century, much of Ensor's work was rejected as scandalous, particularly his painting '' Christ's Entry Into Brussels in 1889'' (1888–89). The Belgian art critic

Octave Maus Octave Maus (12 June 1856 – 26 November 1919) was a Belgian art critic, writer and lawyer. Maus worked with fellow writer/lawyer Edmond Picard, and they together with Victor Arnould and Eugène Robert founded the weekly '' L'Art moderne'' ...

famously summed up the response from contemporaneous art critics to Ensor's innovative (and often scathingly political) work: "Ensor is the leader of a clan. Ensor is the limelight. Ensor sums up and concentrates certain principles which are considered to be anarchistic. In short, Ensor is a dangerous person who has great changes. ... He is consequently marked for blows. It is at him that all the harquebuses are aimed. It is on his head that are dumped the most aromatic containers of the so-called serious critics." Some of Ensor's contemporaneous work reveals his defiant response to this criticism. For example, the 1887 etching "Le Pisseur" depicts the artist urinating on a graffitied wall declaring (in the voice of an art critic) "Ensor est un fou" or "Ensor is a Madman." Ensor's paintings continued to be exhibited and he gradually won acceptance and acclaim. In 1895 his painting ''The Lamp Boy'' (1880) was acquired by the

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België) are a group of art museums in Brussels, Belgium. They include six museums: the Oldmasters Muse ...

in Brussels, and he had his first solo exhibition in Brussels. By 1920 he was the subject of major exhibitions; in 1929 he was named a

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

by King Albert, and was the subject of the Belgian composer

Flor Alpaerts Flor Alpaerts ( Antwerp, 12 September 1876 – Antwerp, 5 October 1954) was a Belgian conductor, pedagogue and composer. He graduated from the ''Vlaamse Muziekschool'' in 1901. He was artistic director of the Peter Benoit Foundation, co-direct ...

's ''James Ensor Suite''; and in 1933 he was awarded the band of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

Alfred H. Barr, Jr. Alfred Hamilton Barr Jr. (January 28, 1902 – August 15, 1981) was an American art historian and the first director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. From that position, he was one of the most influential forces in the development of ...

, the founding director of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

in New York, after considering Ensor's 1887 painting ''Tribulations of Saint Anthony'' (now in MoMA's collection), declared Ensor the boldest painter working at that time. Even in the first decade of the 20th century, however, Ensor's production of new works was diminishing, and he increasingly concentrated on music—although he had no musical training, he was a gifted improviser on the

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

, and spent much time performing for visitors. Against the advice of friends, he remained in Ostend during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

despite the risk of bombardment. In his old age, he was an honored figure among Belgians, and his daily walk made him a familiar sight in Ostend. He died there following a short illness, on 19 November 1949 at the age of 89.

Art

While Ensor's early works, such as ''Russian Music'' (1881) and ''The Drunkards'' (1883), depict realistic scenes in a somber style, his palette subsequently brightened and he favored increasingly bizarre subject matter. Such paintings as ''The Scandalized Masks'' (1883) and ''

Skeletons Fighting over a Hanged Man ''Skeletons Fighting over a Hanged Man'' is an 1891 oil painting by the Belgian Expressionist painter James Ensor which is in the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp ( Dutch: ''Koninklijk ...

'' (1891) feature figures in grotesque masks inspired by the ones sold in his mother's gift shop for Ostend's annual Carnival. Subjects such as

carnivals Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

masks A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practi ...

puppetry Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a perform ...

, skeletons, and fantastic

allegories As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...

are dominant in Ensor's mature work. Ensor dressed skeletons up in his studio and arranged them in colorful, enigmatic tableaux on the canvas, and used masks as a theatrical aspect in his still lifes. Attracted by masks' plastic forms, bright colors, and potential for psychological impact, he created a format in which he could paint with complete freedom. The four years between 1888 and 1892 mark a turning point in Ensor's work. He turned to religious themes, often the torments of Christ. Ensor interpreted religious themes as a personal disgust for the inhumanity of the world. In 1888 alone, he produced forty-five etchings as well as his most ambitious painting, the immense '' Christ's Entry Into Brussels in 1889''. Also known as ''Entry of Christ into Brussels'', it is considered "a forerunner of twentieth-century

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

." In this composition, which elaborates a theme treated by Ensor in his drawing ''Les Aureoles du Christ'' of 1885, a vast carnival mob in grotesque masks advances toward the viewer. Identifiable within the crowd are Belgian politicians, historical figures, and members of Ensor's family. Nearly lost amid the teeming throng is Christ on his donkey; although Ensor was an atheist, he identified with Christ as a victim of mockery. The piece, which measures by inches, was rejected by

and was not publicly displayed until 1929.J. Paul Getty Museum
Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889.
Retrieved 18 September 2008. After its controversial export in the 1960s, the painting is now at the

J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fea ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. As Ensor achieved belated recognition in the final years of the 19th century, his style softened and he painted less in the 20th century. Historians have generally seen Ensor's last forty or fifty years as a long period of decline, although noting a few original "superb and poignant" compositions from his later period. One author identified significant works of Ensor's late period such as ''The Artist's Mother in Death'' (1915), a subdued painting of his mother's deathbed with a still life of prominent medicine bottles in the foreground, and ''The Vile Vivisectors'' (1925), a vehement attack on those responsible for the use of animals in medical experimentation. Another stated "He would still paint pictures magnificently vigorous and bold, but they would be exceptions rather than the rule" noting works such as ''Our Two Portraits'' (1905), ''The Deliverance of Andromeda'' (1925), ''Port of Ostend'' (1933), and ''Ensor at the Harmonium'' (1933). The aggressive sarcasm that had characterized his work since the mid-1880s was less evident in his few new compositions, and much of his output consisted of mild repetitions of earlier works. Several still life paintings, void of social, political, or introspective content, stand out among his later works. Ensor turned more and more to music in his later years, playing the harmonium and even composing a ballet-pantomime in one act, ''The Scale of Love'' (1907), complete with an original libretto, sets, and costumes. He is known to have stated in later years that he had followed the wrong path in life, feeling that he should have devoted himself to music.

Gallery

Early work (1879–1884) File:James Ensor (1879) - De vrouw met de wipneus 001.jpg, ''Woman with Turned-up Nose'' (1879), oil on canvas mounted on wood, 54 x 45 cm., Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp File:James Ensor (1880) - De rog 001.jpg, ''The Skate'' (c. 1880), oil on canvas, dimensions unknown, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp File:James Ensor (1880) - Stilleven met chinoiserieën 001.jpg, ''Still Life with Chinoiseries'' (1880), oil on canvas, 100 x 78 cm., Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp File:Namiddag in Oostende, James Ensor, 1881, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen, 1852.001.jpeg, ''Afternoon in Ostend'' (1881), oil on canvas, 108 x 133 cm., Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp File:James Ensor (1882) - De oestereetster 001.jpg, ''The Oyster Eater'' (1882), oil on canvas, 207 x 150 cm., Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp File:James Ensor, Meadow Flowers (1883) oil on canvas, 113 x 97.5 cm., Minneapolis Institute of Arts.jpg, ''Meadow Flowers'' (1883), oil on canvas, 113 x 97.5 cm., Minneapolis Institute of Arts File:James Ensor The Rower.jpg, ''The Rower'' (1883),

Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp ( Dutch: ''Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen'', ''KMSKA'') is a museum in Antwerp, Belgium, founded in 1810, that houses a collection of paintings, sculptures and drawings from the fourteenth ...

File:James Ensor, Scandalized Mask (1883) oil on canvas, 135 x 112 cm., Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels.jpg, ''Scandalized Mask'' (1883), oil on canvas, 135 x 112 cm., Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels File:James Ensor (1884) - De daken van Oostende 001.jpg, '' The Rooftops of Ostend'' (1884),

Mature work (1885–1899) File:James Ensor (1887) - Uitdrijving Adam en Eva uit het aards paradijs 001.jpg, ''Adam and Eve Expelled from Paradise'' (1887), oil on canvas, 205 x 245 cm., Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp File:Tribulations of Saint Anthony 1887.jpg, ''Tribulations of Saint Anthony'' (1887), oil on canvas, 117.8 x 167.6 cm., Museum of Modern Art, New York File:Astonishment of the Mask Wouse, 1889.jpg, ''Astonishment of the Mask Wouse'' (1889), oil on canvas, 131,5 x 109 cm., Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp File:James Ensor, Skeletons Warming Themselves, 1889.jpg, ''Skeletons Warming Themselves'' (1889), oil on canvas, 74.8 x 60 cm., Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth File:Muenchen Neue Pinakothek Ensor Still Life.jpg, ''Attributes of the Studio'' (1889), oil on canvas, 83 x 113.5 cm., Alte Pinakothek, Munich File:L'Intrigue (James Ensor, 1890).jpg, ''

The Intrigue ''The Intrigue'' is a surviving 1916 silent film drama produced by Pallas Pictures and released through Paramount Pictures. Frank Lloyd directed the film which was written by Julia Crawford Ivers and photographed by her son James Van Trees. The ...

'' (1890), oil on canvas, 90 x 150 cm.,

File:The Assassination by James Ensor, 1890.JPG, ''The Assassination'' (1890), oil on canvas, dimensions unknown, Columbus Museum of Art Antoine_B._Fualdès File:James_Ensor,_Les_bons_juges,_1891.jpg.html" ;"title="Antoine Bernardin Fualdès">Antoine B. Fualdès File:James Ensor, Les bons juges, 1891.jpg">''The Good Judges'' (1891), oil on panel, 38 x 46 cm., private collection File:Ensor, De man van smarten, 1891.jpg, ''The Man of Sorrows'' (1891),

File:1891 James Ensor Squelette se disputant un pendu.jpg, ''

'' (1891),

File:James Ensor La Raie.jpg, ''Still Life with Ray'' (1892) oil on canvas, 80 x 100 cm., Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels File:James Ensor, Les cuisiniers dangereux, 1896.jpg, ''The Dangerous Cooks'' (1896), oil on panel, 38 x 46 cm., private collection File:James Ensor (1896) - Bloemen en groenten 001.jpg, ''Flowers and Vegetables'' (1896), oil on canvas, 79 x 98 cm.; collection Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp File:James Ensor, Le grand juge, 1898.jpg, ''The Great Judge'' (1898), oil on canvas, dimensions unknown, private collection File:James Ensor, Self Portrait with Masks (1899) oil on canvas, 117 x 82 cm., Menard Art Museum, Komaki, Japan.jpg, ''Self-Portrait with Masks'' (1899), oil on canvas, 117 x 82 cm., Menard Art Museum, Komaki Later work (1900–1949) File:James Ensor - Still Life with Chinoiseries - INV1959.jpg, ''Still Life with Chinoiseries'' (c. 1906), oil on canvas, 85 × 105 cm., Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp File:Ma mère morte, 1915, oil on canvas, 75 x 60 cm, Kunstmuseum aan Zee, Ostend.jpg, ''My Dead Mother'' (1915), oil on canvas, 75 x 60 cm, Kunstmuseum aan Zee, Ostend File:James Ensor - Phantastisches Stillleben - 3914 - Österreichische Galerie Belvedere.jpg, ''Fantastic Still Life'' (c. 1917), oil on canvas, 16 x 21.5 cm., Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna File:1921 Ensor Stilleben mit Kohl anagoria.JPG, ''Still Life with a Cabbage'' (1921), oil on canvas, dimensions unknown, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands File:James Ensor Mädchen-mit-Masken Kommunion.jpg, ''Girl with Masks'' or ''Eucharist'' (1921), oil on canvas, 57.2 × 52.5 cm., Städelsches Art Institute and Urban Gallery, Frankfurt File:James Ensor, Finding of Moses (1924) oil on canvas, 119 x 128 cm.jpg, ''Finding of Moses'' (1924), oil on canvas, 119 x 128 cm., private collection File:James Ensor, The Vile Vivisectors (1925), oil on canvas.jpg, ''The Vile Vivisectors'' (1925), oil on canvas, dimensions and collection unknown File:James Ensor, Ensor at the Harmonium, 1933.jpg, ''Ensor at the Harmonium'' (1933), oil on canvas, dimensions and collection unknown

Printmaking

Ensor was a prolific and accomplished printmaker. He created 133 etchings and drypoints over the course of his career, with 86 of them made between 1886 and 1891 during the height of Ensor's most creative period. Ensor himself recognized that the prints were a key part of his artistic legacy, stating in a letter to Albert Croquez in 1934: "Yes, my intention is to go on working for a long time yet so that generations to come may hear me. My intention is to survive, and I think of the solid copper plate, the unalterable ink, easy reproduction, faithful prints, and I adopt etching as a means of expression." In 1889, Ensor created two highly political etchings. The first, titled ''Doctrinal Nourishment'' [or ''Alimentation Doctrinaire''], depicts key figures in Belgium—a bishop, the king, etc.—defecating on the masses of Belgium. The second, titled ''Belgium in the XIXth Century'' or ''King Dindon'', depicts Leopold II of Belgium, King Leopold II watching as military figures violently quell a protest. These prints are very rare today because Ensor attempted to remove them from circulation after being named Baron and many others were lost during the war. File:James Ensor, The Cathedral (1886) etching, 25 x 19 cm., Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent.jpg, ''The Cathedral'' (1886) etching, 25 x 19 cm., Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent File:James Ensor, Ernest Rousseau (1887) drypoint, 24 x 18.1 cm., Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent.jpg, ''Ernest Rousseau'' (1887) drypoint, 24 x 18.1 cm., Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent File:James Ensor, Houses on the Boulevard Anspach in Brussels (1888) drypoint, 13.9 x 9.2 cm., Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent.jpg, ''Boulevard Anspach '' (1888) drypoint, 13.9 x 9.2 cm., Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent File:James Ensor, Country Fair Near a Windmill (1889) etching, 13.8 x 17.8 cm., Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent.jpg, ''Country Fair Near a Windmill'' (1889) etching, 13.8 x 17.8 cm., Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent File:James Ensor, My Portrait in the Year 1960 (1888) etching, 6.9 x 12., Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent.jpg, ''My Portrait in the Year 1960'' (1888) etching, 6.9 x 12., Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent File:James Ensor, Peculiar Insects (1888) drypoint, 11.9 x 15.9 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels.jpg, ''Peculiar Insects'' (1888) drypoint, 11.9 x 15.9 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels File:James Ensor, Alimentation Doctrinaire (1889) etching, 17.8 x 24.8 cm., Plantin-Moretus Museum, Antwerp.jpg, ''Alimentation Doctrinaire'' (1889) etching, 17.8 x 24.8 cm., Plantin-Moretus Museum, Antwerp File:James Ensor, King Pest (1895) etching, 10 x 12 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels.jpg, ''King Pest'' (1895) etching, 10 x 12 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels File:James Ensor, Demons Taunting Me (1895) etching, 11.8 x 15.8 cm., Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent.jpg, ''Demons Taunting Me'' (1895) etching, 11.8 x 15.8 cm., Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent File:James Ensor, Christ Tormented by Demons (1895) etching and drypoint, 17.9 x 24.2 cm., Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent.jpg, ''Christ Tormented by Demons'' (1895) etching and drypoint, 17.9 x 24.2 cm., Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent File:James Ensor, The Devils Dzitts and Hihanox Lead Christ into Hell (1895) 13.9 x 17.8 cm., etching and drypoint, Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent.jpg, ''The Devils Dzitts and Hihanox Lead Christ into Hell'' (1895) 13.9 x 17.8 cm., etching and drypoint, Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent File:James Ensor, Death Pursuing Humanity (1896) etching, 24.1 x 18.2 cm., Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent.jpg, ''Death Pursuing Humanity'' (1896) etching, 24.1 x 18.2 cm., Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent File:James Ensor, Plague Below, Plague Above, Plague Everywhere (1904) etching, 19.7 x 29.8 cm., Plantin-Moretus Museum, Antwerp.jpg, ''Plague Below, Plague Above, Plague Everywhere'' (1904) etching, 19.7 x 29.8 cm., Plantin-Moretus Museum, Antwerp The Seven Deadly Sins File:James Ensor, Death Dominating the Deadly Sins (1904) etching, 9 x 14 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels.jpg, ''Death Dominating the Deadly Sins'' (1904) etching, 9 x 14 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels File:James Ensor, Seven Deadly Sins, Anger (1904) etching, 9.8 x 15 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels.jpg, ''Anger'' (1904) etching, 9.8 x 15 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels File:James Ensor, Seven Deadly Sins, Avarice (1904) etching, 9.8 x 15 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels.jpg, ''Avarice'' (1904) etching, 9.8 x 15 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels File:James Ensor, Seven Deadly Sins, Envy (1904) etching, 9.8 x 15 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels.jpg, ''Envy'' (1904) etching, 9.8 x 15 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels File:James Ensor, Seven Deadly Sins, Gluttony (1904) etching, 9.8 x 15 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels.jpg, ''Gluttony'' (1904) etching, 9.8 x 15 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels File:James Ensor, Seven Deadly Sins, Lust (1888) etching, 9.8 x 13.7 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels.jpg, ''Lust'' (1888) etching, 9.8 x 13.7 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels File:James Ensor, Seven Deadly Sins, Pride (1904) etching, 9.8 x 15 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels.jpg, ''Pride'' (1904) etching, 9.8 x 15 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels File:James Ensor, Seven Deadly Sins, Sloth (1902) etching, 10 x 14 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels.jpg, ''Sloth'' (1902) etching, 10 x 14 cm., Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels

Honour

* 1919: Commander of the Order of Leopold (Belgium), Order of Leopold.

Influence and legacy

Ensor is considered to be an innovator in 19th-century art. Although he stood apart from other artists of his time, he significantly influenced such 20th-century artists as

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

Emil Nolde Emil Nolde (born Hans Emil Hansen; 7 August 1867 – 13 April 1956) was a German-Danish painter and printmaker. He was one of the first Expressionists, a member of Die Brücke, and was one of the first oil painting and watercolor painters of th ...

, George Grosz,

Alfred Kubin Alfred Leopold Isidor Kubin (10 April 1877 – 20 August 1959) was an Austrian printmaker, illustrator, and occasional writer. Kubin is considered an important representative of Symbolism and Expressionism. Biography Kubin was born in Bohemia ...

Wols Wols was the pseudonym of Alfred Otto Wolfgang Schulze (27 May 19131 September 1951), a German painter and photographer predominantly active in France. Though broadly unrecognized in his lifetime, he is considered a pioneer of lyrical abstracti ...

, Felix Nussbaum, and other expressionist and

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

painters of the 20th century. As

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Pa ...

CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director

Michael Govan Michael Govan (born 1963) is the director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Prior to his current position, Govan worked as the director of the Dia Art Foundation in New York City. Early life and education Govan was born in 1963 in Nor ...

has explained: "James Ensor's signature style – his radical distortion of form, his ambiguous space, his riotous color, his muddled surfaces, and his proclivity for the bizarre – both anticipated and influenced modernist movements from

symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: Arts * Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism ** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries ** Russian sym ...

and

German expressionism German Expressionism () consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central ...

dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...

and

." Ensor's works are in many public collections, notably the

Modern Art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

Museum of the

in Brussels, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, and the Museum voor Schone Kunsten in Ostend. Major works by Ensor are also in the

in New York, the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art ...

, Paris, the

in Los Angeles, and the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

. A collection of his letters is held in the Contemporary Art Archives of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels. The Ensor collections of the Flemish fine art museums can all be seen at the James Ensor Online Museum. Ensor has been paid homage by contemporary painters and artists in other media. The Belgian artist

Pierre Alechinsky Pierre Alechinsky (born 19 October 1927) is a Belgian artist. He has lived and worked in France since 1951. His work is related to tachisme, abstract expressionism, and lyrical abstraction. Life Alechinsky was born in Schaerbeek. In 1944 he att ...

(b. 1927) and noted member of COBRA, painted ''The Tomb of Ensor'' (1961) in homage to Ensor, which is now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. He is the subject of a song, "Meet James Ensor", recorded in 1994 by the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

duo

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. The 1996 Belgian movie, ''

Camping Cosmos ''Camping Cosmos'' is a 1996 Belgian satirical comedy film and a sequel to ''La Vie sexuelle des Belges 1950-1978'', directed by the same director: Jan Bucquoy. It stars Claude Semal, Lolo Ferrari (Miss Vandeputte), Noël Godin (Pierre Mertens), H ...

'', was inspired by drawings of James Ensor, in particular ''Carnaval sur la plage'' (1887), ''La mort poursuivant le troupeau des humains'' (1896), and ''Le bal fantastique'' (1889). The film's director,

Jan Bucquoy Jan Bucquoy (; Harelbeke, 16 November 1945) is a Belgian anarchist who has worked in various media (film, comics writing, painting, sculptures, museums). He gained fame for his controversial anti-establishment works and media stunts, which caus ...

, is also the creator of a

comic a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

'' Le Bal du Rat mort'' inspired by Ensor. An exhibition of approximately 120 works by James Ensor was shown at the

in New York City in 2009, and then at the

, Paris, October 2009 – February 2010. The Getty mounted a similar exhibition June–September 2014. The Art Institute of Chicago exhibited Ensor's 1887 masterpiece The Temptation of St. Anthony from November 2014 through January 2015, along with other important paintings and etchings. From October 2016 through January 2017, the Royal Academy of Arts in London hosted a major exhibition of Ensor's paintings and etchings, curated by the Belgian artist

Luc Tuymans Luc Tuymans (born 14 June 1958) is a Belgian visual artist best known for his paintings which explore people's relationship with history and confront their ability to ignore it. World War II is a recurring theme in his work. He is a key figure ...

. The black artist

Kara Walker Kara Elizabeth Walker (born November 26, 1969) is an American contemporary painter, silhouettist, print-maker, installation artist, filmmaker, and professor who explores race, gender, sexuality, violence, and identity in her work. She is best ...

painted a controversial work, "Christ's Entry into Journalism", inspired by Ensor in 2017. The yearly philanthropic " Bal du Rat mort" (Dead Rat Ball) in Ostend continues a tradition begun by Ensor and his friends in 1898. In the movie Halloween (1978), a poster of one of Ensor's self-portraits appears on the wall of a room in Laurie Strode's (Jamie Lee Curtis) home.

References

;Citations ;Works cited * * * * * * * * ;Further reading * Berko, Patrick & Viviane (1981). "Dictionary of Belgian painters born between 1750 & 1875", Knokke 1981, p. 272–274. * Janssens, Jacques (1978). ''James Ensor''. New York: Crown Publishers Inc. * * *

External links

*
James Ensor Online Museum

James Ensor Archief – Publications by or with the cooperation of Patrick Florizoone

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060928092612/http://museum.antwerpen.be/kmska/Engels/Engels.htm Exhibition at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp: "Ensor and the Moderns"
The Getty Museum: James Ensor
*
James Ensor: The Temptation of Saint Anthony
' digital exhibition catalogue
Flemish Art Collection: James Ensor, Graphic Artist

"Goya, Redon, Ensor Grotesque paintings and drawings" 2009 Special Exhibition at KMSKA

2009 Ensor show at Museum of Modern Art, NYC
* Sanford Schwartz,
Mysteries of Ensor
" ''New York Review of Books'', 24 September 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ensor, James 1860 births 1949 deaths 19th-century Belgian painters 19th-century Belgian male artists 20th-century Belgian painters 20th-century printmakers Artists from Ostend Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts alumni Barons of Belgium Belgian Expressionist painters Belgian people of English descent Belgian printmakers Belgian satirists Belgian Symbolist painters Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium Modern painters Belgian atheists 20th-century Belgian male artists