Ensor revealed
Even 150 years after his birth, James Ensor (1860 - 1949) continues to fascinate. ING, the Royal Antwerp Fine Arts Museum (KMSKA) and the Brussels Fine Arts Museum (BOZAR) joined forces in order to show you the painter from Ostend in a new light. The exposition Ensor revealed set drawings against paintings in order to clarify the mental universe and the genesis of the masterpieces of this obstinate artist.
The exceptional richness of the collection of the museum of Antwerp was supplemented by several works from private and public collections. The works on show were a testament, first of all, to the extraordinary imagination of the artist, familiarising the public with his abundance of creativity. They also revealed some secret methods used by the "Prince among painters".
Ensor revealed takes the visitor into the artist's workshop, allowing the spectator to discover his thought processes and his artistic evolution. The exhibition was based around two main themes.
First of all, it showed that Ensor was one of the greatest realist painters of the 19th century. His still lifes, portraits, modern paintings and drawings proved that he wanted to compete with the old masters and with his contemporaries, and was successful in this quest. To illustrate this, the exhibition presented an exceptional selection of major works like The Oyster Eater or The Bourgeois Salon.
The exhibition looked more closely at the most original and innovative side of Ensor's work: his famous grotesque pictures and his masks, including masterpieces such as The Astonishment of the Mask Wouse, The Intrigue or Skeletons Fighting over a Hanged Man.
Finally several major works, never before exhibited in public, have been added to the remarkable selection and illustrated the coherency of Ensor’s lively artistic career.
Besides the 60 paintings, over 140 drawings were shown, which constituted the key of Ensor's known works.