James Ensor Belgian
1860-1949
Belgian painter, printmaker and draughtsman. No single label adequately describes the visionary work produced by Ensor between 1880 and 1900, his most productive period. His pictures from that time have both Symbolist and Realist aspects, and in spite of his dismissal of the Impressionists as superficial daubers he was profoundly concerned with the effects of light. His imagery and technical procedures anticipated the colouristic brilliance and violent impact of Fauvism and German Expressionism and the psychological fantasies of Surrealism. Ensor most memorable and influential work was almost exclusively produced before 1900, but he was largely unrecognized before the 1920s in his own country. His work was highly influential in Germany, however: Emil Nolde visited him in 1911, and was influenced by his use of masks; Paul Klee mentions him admiringly in his diaries; Erich Heckel came to see him in the middle of the war and painted his portrait (1930; Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz-Mus.); Alfred Kubin owned several of his prints, while Marc Chagall and George Grosz also adapted certain elements from Ensor. All the artists of the Cobra group saw him as a master. He influenced many Belgian artists including Leon Spilliaert, Rik Wouters, Constant Permeke, Frits van den Berghe, Paul Delvaux and Pierre Alechinsky.
Plague Above,Plague below,Plague all around mk126
1904
This print,like the earlier 1888 drawing that it copied in reverse,is base on a photograph of a trip Ensor took with family and friends to Bruges.
Painting ID:: 37528
Plague_Above,Plague_below,Plague_all_around mk126
1904
This print,like the earlier 1888 drawing that it copied in reverse,is base on a photograph of a trip Ensor took with family and friends to Bruges.
At the Conservatory mk126
1902
As he later wrote to his friend
the poet and art critic pol de Mont,frome the very start of His career.
Painting ID:: 37529
The Fight mk126
ca.1910
It seems that Ensor was already fascinated by the motif of fighting men a number of years before he produced this work
Painting ID:: 37530
The Assassination mk126
1890
The Macabre side of the Victorian imagination was fueled by naturalist novels and sensationalist tabloids
Painting ID:: 37531
The Wise judges mk126
1891
Social satire works best when there is just enough of a connection with reality to underscore is sardonic difference.
Painting ID:: 37532
James_Ensor Belgian
1860-1949
Belgian painter, printmaker and draughtsman. No single label adequately describes the visionary work produced by Ensor between 1880 and 1900, his most productive period. His pictures from that time have both Symbolist and Realist aspects, and in spite of his dismissal of the Impressionists as superficial daubers he was profoundly concerned with the effects of light. His imagery and technical procedures anticipated the colouristic brilliance and violent impact of Fauvism and German Expressionism and the psychological fantasies of Surrealism. Ensor most memorable and influential work was almost exclusively produced before 1900, but he was largely unrecognized before the 1920s in his own country. His work was highly influential in Germany, however: Emil Nolde visited him in 1911, and was influenced by his use of masks; Paul Klee mentions him admiringly in his diaries; Erich Heckel came to see him in the middle of the war and painted his portrait (1930; Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz-Mus.); Alfred Kubin owned several of his prints, while Marc Chagall and George Grosz also adapted certain elements from Ensor. All the artists of the Cobra group saw him as a master. He influenced many Belgian artists including Leon Spilliaert, Rik Wouters, Constant Permeke, Frits van den Berghe, Paul Delvaux and Pierre Alechinsky.