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 "Baigneuses (Lignes courbes et ondulées), 1916")
James Ensor
Baigneuses (Lignes courbes et ondulées), 1916
Sale Date: December 6, 2006
Auction Closed
.jpg "Petites fbizarres (Mes Amis animalisés), 1888")
James Ensor
Petites fbizarres (Mes Amis animalisés), 1888
Sale Date: October 28, 2006
Auction Closed
.jpg "Les péchés capitaux (set of 8, various..., 1888–1904")
James Ensor
Les péchés capitaux (set of 8, various..., 1888–1904
Sale Date: October 31, 2006
Auction Closed
.jpg "Scènes de la vie du Christ (album of 31 + ..., 1921")
James Ensor
Scènes de la vie du Christ (album of 31 + ..., 1921
Sale Date: October 7, 2006
Auction Closed
.jpg "Scène biblique (+ Deux portraits, verso), 1878")
James Ensor
Scène biblique (+ Deux portraits, verso), 1878
Sale Date: September 14, 2006
Auction Closed
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