Monday, November 14, 2016

James Ensor (1860 - 1949)

James Ensor - Cover art for Peintre and Graveur, 1899Cover art for Peintre and Graveur, 1899

James Ensor - Demons Teasing Me,  Poster for the James Ensor Exhibition at the Salon des Cent in Paris , 1898Demons Teasing Me,  Poster for the James Ensor Exhibition at the Salon des Cent in Paris , 1898

James Ensor - Demons Teasing Me, 1898Demons Teasing Me, 1898

James Ensor - The Temptation of Saint Anthony, 1887The Temptation of Saint Anthony, 1887

James Ensor - The Temptation of Saint 
Anthony, detail 1, 1887The Temptation of Saint Anthony, detail 1, 1887

James Ensor - The Temptation of Saint Anthony, detail 2, 1887The Temptation of Saint Anthony, detail 2, 1887

James Ensor - The Temptation of Saint Anthony, detail 3, 1887The Temptation of Saint Anthony, detail 3, 1887

James Ensor - Devils Trashing Angels and Archangels, 1888Devils Trashing Angels and Archangels, 1888

James Ensor - The Devils Dzitts and Hihanox Leading Christ to Hell, 1895The Devils Dzitts and Hihanox Leading Christ to Hell, 1895

James Ensor - Petit Persian Turtures (1896) Petit Persian Turtures, 1896

James Ensor - The Entry of Christ into Brussels, State 3, 1898The Entry of Christ into Brussels, State 3, 1898

James Ensor - Christ in Hell Christ in Hell

James Ensor -  Christ Descending Into Hell, 1895Christ Descending Into Hell, 1895

James Ensor - The Strike (Massacre of the Ostend Fisherman). 1888The Strike (Massacre of the Ostend Fisherman) 1888

James Ensor - Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889, 1889:90Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889, 1889/90

James Ensor - Death Chasing the Flock of Mortals, 1896Death Chasing the Flock of Mortals, 1896

James Ensor - Hop-Frog's Revenge, colored, 1898Hop-Frog's Revenge, colored print, 1898

James Ensor - Hop-Frog's Revenge, 1896Hop-Frog's Revenge, 1896

James Ensor - The Love Line, 1924The Love Line, 1924

James Ensor - Monstres Entrelacés Décousus, Entrelardés, 1938Monstres Entrelacés Décousus, Entrelardés, 1938

James Ensor - Demons Teasing Me, colored, 1895Demons Teasing Me, colored, 1895

James Ensor - Demons Teasing Me, original drawing, 1895Demons Teasing Me, original drawing, 1895

James Ensor - King Pest, 1895King Pest, 1895

James Ensor - King Pest, original drawing, 1895King Pest, original drawing, 1895

James Ensor - Fight of the Dodwn-and-Outs, 1887Fight of the Dodwn-and-Outs, 1887

James Ensor - Queen Parysatis, 1899Queen Parysatis, 1899

James Ensor - The Ghosts, 1889The Ghosts, 1889

James Ensor -  Anger (La Colère) from The Deadly Sins (Les Péchés capitaux) colored, 1904Anger (La Colère) from The Deadly Sins (Les Péchés capitaux) colored, 1904

James Ensor -  Avarice (L'Avarice) from The Deadly Sins (Les Péchés capitaux) colored, 1904Avarice (L'Avarice) from The Deadly Sins (Les Péchés capitaux) colored, 1904

James Ensor - Sloth (La Paresse) from The Deadly Sins (Les Péchés capitaux) colored, 1902Sloth (La Paresse) from The Deadly Sins (Les Péchés capitaux) colored, 1902

James Ensor -  Gluttony (La Gourmandise) from The Deadly Sins (Les Péchés capitaux) colored, 1904Gluttony (La Gourmandise) from The Deadly Sins (Les Péchés capitaux) colored, 1904

James Ensor -  Lust (La Luxure) from The Deadly Sins (Les Péchés capitaux) colored, 1888 Lust (La Luxure) from The Deadly Sins (Les Péchés capitaux) colored, 1888

James Ensor - Pride (L'Orgeuil) from The Deadly Sins (Les Péchés capitaux) colored, 1904Pride (L'Orgeuil) from The Deadly Sins (Les Péchés capitaux) colored, 1904

James Ensor - Envy (L'Envie) from The Deadly Sins (Les Péchés capitaux) 1904Envy (L'Envie) from The Deadly Sins (Les Péchés capitaux) 1904

James Ensor - The Deadly Sins Dominated by Death, 1904The Deadly Sins Dominated by Death, 1904

James Ensor - The Deadly Sins dominated by Death, from "The Seven Deadly Sins," colored version 1, 1904The Deadly Sins dominated by Death, from "The Seven Deadly Sins," colored version 1, 1904

James Ensor - The Deadly Sins dominated by Death, from "The Seven Deadly Sins," colored version 2, 1904The Deadly Sins dominated by Death, from "The Seven Deadly Sins," colored version 2, 1904

James Ensor - My Aunt Asleep and Dreaming of Monsters, 1888My Aunt Asleep and Dreaming of Monsters, 1888

James Ensor - The Fight of the Down-and-Outs Desir and Rissole, State 2, 1888The Fight of the Down-and-Outs Desir and Rissole, State 2, 1888

James Ensor - The Bad Doctors, 1892The Bad Doctors, 1892

James Ensor -  The Bad Doctors, colored, 1895The Bad Doctors, colored, 1895

James Ensor - The Assassination, 1890The Assassination, 1890

James Ensor - Good Judges, 1891Good Judges, 1891

James Ensor - LES BONS JUGES, 1894 The Good Judges, 1894

James Ensor - The Baths at Ostende, 1889The Baths at Ostende, 1889

James Ensor - Red and White Clowns Evolving, 1890Red and White Clowns Evolving, 1890

James Ensor - Battle of the Golden Spurs, 1895Battle of the Golden Spurs, 1895

James Ensor - Doctrinal Nourishment, 1889Doctrinal Nourishment, 1889

James Ensor - The Gendarmes, 1888The Gendarmes, 1888

James Ensor - Intrigued Masks, 1930Intrigued Masks, 1930

James Ensor - Perplexed Masks, 1904Perplexed Masks, 1904

James Ensor - Ensor Surrounded By Mass, 1899Ensor Surrounded By Masks, 1899

James Ensor - The Intrigue, 1890The Intrigue, 1890

James Ensor - Masks Confronting Death 1888Masks Confronting Death 1888

James Ensor - Scandalized Masks, 1883Scandalized Masks, 1883

James Ensor - Singular Masks, 1892Singular Masks, 1892

James Ensor - Skeletons Fighting For The Body Of A Hanged Man, 1891Skeletons Fighting For The Body Of A Hanged Man, 1891

James Ensor - Terrible Musicians, 1891Terrible Musicians, 1891

James Ensor - Astonishment of the Mask Wouse, 1889Astonishment of the Mask Wouse, 1889

James Ensor - Pierrot and Skeleton in Yellow Robe, 1893Pierrot and Skeleton in Yellow Robe, 1893

James Ensor - The Despair of Pierrot, 1892The Despair of Pierrot, 1892

James Ensor - Comical Repast (Banquet of the Starved) 1917-18Comical Repast (Banquet of the Starved) 1917-18

James Ensor - Baptism of Masks, 1925-30Baptism of Masks, 1925-30

James Ensor - The Skeleton Painter, 1896The Skeleton Painter, 1896

James Ensor - Fantastic Ballet, 1918Fantastic Ballet, 1918

James Ensor - The Shop Of Grognelet Decoration For The Ballet Range Of Love, 1912The Shop Of Grognelet Decoration For The Ballet Range Of Love, 1912

James Ensor - At The Conservatory With The Academy, 1902At The Conservatory With The Academy, 1902

James Ensor - The War of Snails, 1911The War of Snails, 1911

James Ensor - The Fight of the Angels and the Demons, 1888The Fight of the Angels and the Demons, 1888

James Ensor - Tribulations of Saint Anthony, 1909Tribulations of Saint Anthony, 1909

James Ensor, The Tribulations of Saint Anthony, 1887,The Tribulations of Saint Anthony, 1887

James Ensor - The Temptation of Saint Anthony, 1932The Temptation of Saint Anthony, 1932

James Ensor - The Infernal Cortege, 1887The Infernal Cortege, 1887

James Ensor - Wizards in a Squall, 1888Wizards in a Squall, 1888

James Ensor - Carnival Scene, 1913Carnival Scene, 1913

James Ensor - Composition With Figures, 1946Composition With Figures, 1946

James Ensor - Scenes from the Life of Christ, 1921Scenes from the Life of Christ, 1921

James Ensor - Diables turlupinant un religieux, 1940Diables turlupinant un religieux, 1940

James Ensor - The Assassination 1888The Assassination 1888

James Ensor - Burlesque false nosesBurlesque False Noses

"James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor (13 April 1860 – 19 November 1949) was a Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for almost his entire life. He was associated with the artistic group Les XX.

 Ensor's father, James Frederic Ensor, born in Brussels of English 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 in Brussels, 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 his work was rejected as scandalous, particularly his painting Christ's Entry Into Brussels in 1889 (1888–89), but his 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 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 by King Albert, and was the subject of the Belgian composer Flor Alpaerts's James Ensor Suite; and in 1933 he was awarded the band of the Légion d'honneur. Even in the first decade of the 20th century, however, his 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, and spent much time performing for visitors. Against the advice of friends, he remained in Ostend during World War II 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 after a short illness, on 19 November 1949."  - quote source

A detailed examination along with videos showing the restoration process of James Ensor's "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" can be viewed in this online catalogue at the Art Institute of Chicago. 

You'll find a book published in 1922 of Ensor's art at Archive.org.

James Ensor, peintre & graveur, published 1899

Les écrits de James Ensor, 1921

Artworks found at the Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, my own personal scans from various books and additional sources that have been lost to me over the years.

3 comments:

Gavin Burrows said...

For those who might be in or near London between now and 29th January, there's this exhibition. Haven't been myself yet, but intend to.

O. Douglas Jennings said...

Superb online tribute to a truly visionary, gifted and underrated artist. I had the pleasure of seeing many of these works in person at his retrospective exhibit held by the Art Institute of Chicago. Thanks for your excellent post.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for this great post.

Keep it up!

Alexandros