James Ensor

James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor (April 13, 1860 - November 19 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.

Biography

Ensor's father was of English extraction, and his mother was Flemish. A poor student, he left school at the age of fifteen to begin artistic training with two local painters. From 1877 to 1880, he studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, where his classmates included Fernand Khnopff. He first exhibited his work in 1881. From 1880 until 1917, he had his studio in the attic of his parents' house. His only travels were three brief trips to Paris, London, and Holland. [Farmer, 1976, p. 11]

During the late 1800s much of his work was rejected as scandalous, particularly his painting "Entry of Christ into Brussels" (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. [Becks-Malorny, 2000, p. 95] 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. [Becks-Malorny, 2000, p. 91]

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 November 19, 1949.

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" (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, masks, puppetry, skeletons, and fantastic allegories are dominant in Ensor's mature work. These subjects were used to portray themes such as human dignity and the social condition. [Janssens, 1978, p. 57] 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. [Gindertael, 1975, p. 114]

The four years between 1888 and 1892 mark a turning point in Ensor’s work. Ensor turned to religious themes, often the torments of Christ. [Arnason, 2004, p. 95] Ensor interpreted religious themes as a personal disgust for the inhumanity of the world. [Arnason, 2004, p. 95] In 1888 alone, he produced forty-five etchings as well as his most ambitious painting, the immense "The Entry of Christ into Brussels". [Farmer, 1976, p. 32] 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. [Becks-Malorny, 2000, p. 48] 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. [Becks-Malorny, 2000, p. 43] The piece, which measures 99½ by 169½ inches, was rejected by Les XX and was not publicly displayed until 1929.J. Paul Getty Museum. [http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=932 Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889.] Retrieved September 18, 2008.] After its controversial export in the 1960s, the painting is now at the J. Paul Getty Museum and is on display at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California. Also known as "Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889", it is considered "a forerunner of twentieth-century Expressionism."

As Ensor achieved belated recognition in the final years of the 19th century, his style softened and he painted less. Critics have generally seen Ensor's last fifty years as a long period of decline. [Farmer, 1976, p. 32] The aggressive sarcasm and scatology 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. [Becks-Malorny, 2000, pp. 87-88] Significant works of Ensor's late period include "The Artist's Mother in Death" (1915), a subdued painting of his mother's deathbed with 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.

Influence and legacy

James 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, Emil Nolde, George Grosz, Alfred Kubin, Wols, Felix Nussbaum, [Becks-Malorny, 2000, p. 92] and other expressionist and surrealist painters of the 20th century.

His works are in many public collections, notably the Modern Art Museum of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, and the Museum voor Schone Kunsten in Ostend. Major works by Ensor are also in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, and the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne. A collection of his letters is held in the [http://www.fine-arts-museum.be/site/EN/frames/F_archcont.html Contemporary Art Archives] of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels.Ensor has been paid homage by contemporary painters [Mohammed, Nisha. [http://www.rutherford.org/Oldspeak/Articles/Art/oldspeak-pelletier.asp American fundamentalists: Christ’s entry into Washington in 2008. An interview with Joel Pelletier.] Rutherford Institute, July 5, 2006. Retrieved September 18, 2008.] and artists in other media: he is the subject of a song, "Meet James Ensor", recorded in 1994 by the alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants. The 1996 Belgian movie "Camping Cosmos" 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, is also the creator of a comic "" [Flemish newspaper "Het Laatste Nieuws", 5 October 1981, Marc Wilmet: "Jan Bucquoy laureaat van het stripverhaal".] inspired by Ensor.The yearly philanthropic "Bal du Rat Mort" (Dead Rat Ball) in Ostend continues a tradition begun by Ensor and his friends in 1898.

Notes

References

*Arnason, H.H. (2004). "History of Modern Art". New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.
*Becks-Malorny, Ulrike (2000). "James Ensor". Cologne: Taschen. ISBN 3-8228-5858-7
*Farmer, John David (1976). "Ensor". New York: George Braziller.
*Gindertael, Roger Van (1975). "Ensor". Boston: New York Graphic Society Ltd.
*Janssens, Jacques (1978). "James Ensor". New York: Crown Publishers Inc.

External links

* [http://www.fine-arts-museum.be/site/EN/frames/F_peinture19.html The Royal Museums' Modern Art Collection: 19th C. symbolism, with Ensor's "Skeletons fighting for a smoked herring"]
* [http://museum.antwerpen.be/kmska/Engels/Engels.htm Exhibition at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp: "Ensor and the Moderns"]
* [http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=253 The Getty Museum: James Ensor]
* [http://www.vlaamsekunstcollectie.be/index.aspx?local=en&p=themaspub&query=identifier=649&toppub=649&page=1 Flemish Art Collection: James Ensor, Graphic Artist]