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
.jpg "Ecce homo (Le Christ insulté), 1890")
.jpg "Detail of a piece of furniture (Le meuble..., 1885")
James Ensor
Detail of a piece of furniture (Le meuble..., 1885
Sale Date: October 21, 2023
Auction Closed
.jpg "The town hall of Tholen (Zeeland), 1887")
James Ensor
"Ecce Homo", titré de la série "Scènes de la vie
Sale Date: September 12, 2023
Auction Closed
![Crânes et Masques [Skulls and Masks], 1888](http://qa1.artnet-dev.com/WebServices/images/ll00148lldZQ3JFgpvkR3CfDrCWQFHPKcRzoG/james-ensor-crânes-et-masques-[skulls-and-masks].jpg "Crânes et Masques [Skulls and Masks], 1888")
James Ensor
Estampes, ensemble de vingt-deux lithographies...
Sale Date: May 22, 2023
Auction Closed
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