James Ensor

(Belgian, 1860–1949)

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 KleeGeorge 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.

James Ensor Artworks

James Ensor (4,479 results)
La paresse

James Ensor

La paresse

Sale Date: June 21, 2016

Auction Closed

Mon portrait, 1884

James Ensor

Mon portrait, 1884

Sale Date: June 16, 2016

Auction Closed

Lady reading in a sofa

James Ensor

Lady reading in a sofa

Sale Date: June 16, 2016

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1887

James Ensor

Untitled, 1887

Sale Date: June 16, 2016

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Untitled, 1929

James Ensor

Untitled, 1929

Sale Date: June 16, 2016

Auction Closed

Pompeiian Priest, 1900–1919

James Ensor

Pompeiian Priest, 1900–1919

Sale Date: June 19, 2016

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Le Jardin d'amour, 1927

James Ensor

Le Jardin d'amour, 1927

Sale Date: June 23, 2016

Auction Closed

La Vengeance de Hop-Frog, 1898

James Ensor

La Vengeance de Hop-Frog, 1898

Sale Date: June 17, 2016

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Composition with figures (1946), 1946

James Ensor

Composition with figures (1946), 1946

Sale Date: May 21, 2016

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The healing of the lame man (1877), 1877

James Ensor

The healing of the lame man (1877), 1877

Sale Date: May 21, 2016

Auction Closed

Les patineurs (1989)

James Ensor

Les patineurs (1989)

Sale Date: May 21, 2016

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Les masques intrigués, 1904–1906

James Ensor

Les masques intrigués, 1904–1906

Sale Date: May 28, 2016

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COQUILLAGES, 1937

James Ensor

COQUILLAGES, 1937

Sale Date: June 1, 2016

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Carnaval d’Ostende 1922

James Ensor

Carnaval d’Ostende 1922

Sale Date: April 1, 2016

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Baptême de masques, 1925

James Ensor

Baptême de masques, 1925

Sale Date: May 31, 2016

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La kermesse au moulin (Village Fair at the..., 1889

James Ensor

La kermesse au moulin (Village Fair at the..., 1889

Sale Date: May 19, 2016

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Hector Denis, 1890

James Ensor

Hector Denis, 1890

Sale Date: April 30, 2016

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Still Life with Cherries, 1889

James Ensor

Still Life with Cherries, 1889

Sale Date: April 29, 2016

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Coquillages, 1895

James Ensor

Coquillages, 1895

Sale Date: March 31, 2016

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LE CHRIST AUX MEDIANTS (CHRISTUS UNTER DEN..., 1895

James Ensor

LE CHRIST AUX MEDIANTS (CHRISTUS UNTER DEN..., 1895

Sale Date: March 19, 2016

Auction Closed

L'Estacade à Ostende, 1887

James Ensor

L'Estacade à Ostende, 1887

Sale Date: March 15, 2016

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Le Christ agonisant, 1895

James Ensor

Le Christ agonisant, 1895

Sale Date: March 15, 2016

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Les Gendarmes, 1888

James Ensor

Les Gendarmes, 1888

Sale Date: March 15, 2016

Auction Closed

Peste dessous, Peste dessus, Peste partout, 1904

James Ensor

Peste dessous, Peste dessus, Peste partout, 1904

Sale Date: March 15, 2016

Auction Closed