James Ensor
(Belgian, 1860–1949)
Biography
James Ensor was a Belgian painter and important influence known for his macabre and brightly colored depictions of masked skeletons, seascapes, and carnivals. In works such as Christ’s Entry into Brussels in 1889 (1888), Ensor explored both autobiographical and social themes through thickly painted patches of color and grotesque caricatures. “Medicinal sea, west-national sea, adored mother, I want in a fresh bouquet, without surrealist ways, to celebrate your one hundred faces, your surfaces, your facets, your dimples, your Rubescent bottoms, your diamond crests, your sapphire tops, your qualities, your delights, your profound charms,” he once mused. Born on April 13, 1860 in Ostend, Belgium, Ensor went on to study at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, where he rebelled against the strict instruction and befriended like-minded students such as Théo van Rysselberghe. After selling the entire contents of his studio in the 1890s do to a personal crisis, Ensor was resolute to give up painting, though he returned to it after only a few short years. By the early 20th century, he had become widely known throughout Europe by artists such as Paul Klee, George Grosz, and Alfred Kubin. Ensor died on November 19, 1949 in Ostend, Belgium. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Neue Pinakothek in Munich, and the Tate Gallery in London, among others.
Most Expensive Artwork Sold at Auction
James Ensor Artworks
James Ensor
Chimera; footpath at Groenendael; the..., 1888–1888
Sale Date: November 5, 2002
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James Ensor
The orchard; Boulevard van Iseghem;..., 1886–1886
Sale Date: November 5, 2002
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James Ensor
Roman triumph; the Multiplication of..., 1889–1889
Sale Date: November 5, 2002
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James Ensor
Portrait of Elias Fries; portrait of..., 1886–1886
Sale Date: November 5, 2002
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James Ensor
Portrait of Elias Fries; the breakwater , 1886–1886
Sale Date: November 5, 2002
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James Ensor
La mort poursuivant le troupeau des..., 1896–1896
Sale Date: November 5, 2002
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James Ensor
Menu for Ernest Rousseau; Ostend..., 1896–1896
Sale Date: November 5, 2002
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James Ensor
Portrait of Ernest Rousseau; capture of , 1887–1887
Sale Date: November 5, 2002
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James Ensor
La mort poursuivant le troupeau des..., 1896–1896
Sale Date: October 12, 2002
Auction Closed
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