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 "Le Christ apaisant la tempête (Christ..., 1886")
.jpg "Le Christ apaisant la tempête (Christ..., 1886")
.jpg "La Madeleine (The Magdalen), 1887")
.jpg "Le Christ insulté (The Mocked Christ), 1886")
.jpg "Le Denier de César (Caesar's Tribute), 1888")
.jpg "Démons me turlupinant (Demons teasing me), 1895")
James Ensor
Démons me turlupinant (Demons teasing me), 1895
Sale Date: March 19, 2014
Auction Closed
.jpg "L'Ecorché (The Flaying), 1888")
.jpg "La Reine Parysatis (Queen Parysatis), 1900")
.jpg "Les Médecins persans (Famous Persian..., 1886")
.jpg "Bataille des Eperons d'Or (Battle of the..., 1895")
James Ensor
Bataille des Eperons d'Or (Battle of the..., 1895
Sale Date: March 19, 2014
Auction Closed
.jpg "Triomphe romain (Roman Triumph), 1889")
.jpg "Prise d'une Ville étrange (Capture of a..., 1888")
James Ensor
Prise d'une Ville étrange (Capture of a..., 1888
Sale Date: March 19, 2014
Auction Closed
.jpg "Prise d'une Ville étrange (Capture of a..., 1888")
James Ensor
Prise d'une Ville étrange (Capture of a..., 1888
Sale Date: March 19, 2014
Auction Closed
.jpg "La Vengeance de Hop Frog (Hop Frog's Revenge), 1898")
James Ensor
La Vengeance de Hop Frog (Hop Frog's Revenge), 1898
Sale Date: March 19, 2014
Auction Closed
.jpg "La Vengeance de Hop Frog (Hop Frog's Revenge), 1898")
James Ensor
La Vengeance de Hop Frog (Hop Frog's Revenge), 1898
Sale Date: March 19, 2014
Auction Closed
.jpg "Le Vengeance de Hop Frog (Hop Frog's Revenge), 1898")
James Ensor
Le Vengeance de Hop Frog (Hop Frog's Revenge), 1898
Sale Date: March 19, 2014
Auction Closed
.jpg "La Vengeance de Hop Frog (Hop Frog's Revenge), 1898")
James Ensor
La Vengeance de Hop Frog (Hop Frog's Revenge), 1898
Sale Date: March 19, 2014
Auction Closed
.jpg "Le Fantôme (The Apparition), 1889")
.jpg "Sorciers dans la Bourrasque (Sorcerers in a..., 1888")
James Ensor
Sorciers dans la Bourrasque (Sorcerers in a..., 1888
Sale Date: March 19, 2014
Auction Closed
.jpg "Les Cataclysmes (Cataclysms), 1888")
.jpg "L'Archer terrible (The terrible Archer), 1888")
.jpg "Diables rossant Anges et Archanges (Devils..., 1888")
James Ensor
Diables rossant Anges et Archanges (Devils..., 1888
Sale Date: March 19, 2014
Auction Closed
.jpg "Diables rossant Anges et Archanges (Devils..., 1888")
James Ensor
Diables rossant Anges et Archanges (Devils..., 1888
Sale Date: March 19, 2014
Auction Closed
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