Few artists of the late nineteenth century produced an oeuvre which is more bizarre, ironic, profound, and rich in interpretive possibilities than that of the Belgian painter James Ensor. His unusual motifs, which became unmistakable symbols of the absurdity of existence, influenced both German Expressionists and French Surrealists. This volume shows all the works from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp.

In a nutshell: An interesting selection of the work of three peculiar artists and pioneers of modern art There is a part of human nature that has always been fascinated by the grotesque - the feeling of not wanting to look, yet being unable to look away, is a feeling that has been inspired in us all at one point or another. Grotesque depictions play an important role in the works of Francisco Goya (1746-1828), Odilon Redon (1840-1916) and James Ensor (1860-1949). These three artists use grotesque motifs in a very different manner: the classical ideas of Goya clearly differ from Redon's symbolism or Ensor's hilarious and cynical mockery. This book presents a rare series of sketches by Goya, grotesque drawings by Redon and a selection of Ensor's top paintings from museums all over the world, and both challenges and confirms the various aesthetic notions of the grotesque. The official catalogue for the exhibition in the Royal Museum for Fine Arts in Antwerp (March/June 2009) ILLUSTRATIONS 110 colour & 110 b/w illustrations

In the course of the twentieth century, under the influence of the increasing success of Modernism, a misleading image of James Ensor emerged. One might even say that Ensor was confined within a modernist 'straitjacket'. In order to understand the artist's motivations, this book follows the advice given to the art critic Andre De Ridder by Ensor himself in 1930: 'I recommend you re-read Les Ecrits de James Ensor, where I explain my research and defend my ideas'. Ensor's writings can roughly be divided into two categories - his letters and 'les ecrits', encompassing his journalistic work, satirical exhibition reviews, comical speeches, words of thanks and praise, and open letters in brochures. The analysis of Ensor's writings is no small task, for he gave little attention to structure and coherence, and employed a complex 'wondermiraclelikefulistic' language - archaisms, neologisms, staggering vitriolic rants, hyperboles, from which the essence of his personal views and beliefs is often difficult to distill. Nevertheless, his writings are a crucial source of knowledge on his opinions on Christian faith, rationality, hypocrisy, the dangers of an emerging Flemish nationalism, animal cruelty, the destruction of natural beauty and ancient monuments, and a number of other topics. Ensor believed art ought to be a source of 'ravishment' for both the viewer and the artist, and continually defended the right of the latter to create an incoherent oeuvre, experimenting with ever new and diverse 'manieres', styles, subjects, techniques and genres. This book explores the artist's writings, ideas and works in greater depth than they have hitherto enjoyed in art-historical scholarship.

Biografi om den belgiske maler og tegner James Ensor (1860-1949) med gengivelse af hans værker

Published on the occasion of the exhibition "James Ensor. An Intimate Portrait," Curated by Sabine Taevernier, at Gladstone Gallery, 130 East 64th Street, New York, November 2021 - January, 2022

Overzicht en woord en beeld van het leven en werk van de Belgische kunstschilder (1860-1949).