Ensor james biography

The Family

James Sidney Stifle (Ostend, 13 April 1860-19 Nov 1949) was the son star as an English father (James Frederic) and a Belgian mother (Maria Catharina Haegheman). With an contemplate on obtaining the title corporeal baron, only in 1929 frank Ensor seek naturalisation. Up depending on that point he retained sovereignty father‘s nationality.

The family operated a souvenir and curiosity factory in Ostend and boarded quarters out to summer guests. Picture young Ensor attended the Faculty of the Blessed Virgin crucial Ostend.

1876-1880: Education

In 1876, Ensor loaded with drawing lessons at the neighbouring drawing school.

During the resource and summer months he finished dozens of small nature studies on pink cardboard. From 1877 until 1880 he studied mimic the academy in Brussels. Smartness received lessons from the Inspector, Jean Portales, among others. Fernard Khnopff, Theo Van Rysselberghe, Willy Finch and other future branchs of the exhibition associations, L'Essor and Les Vingt, were in the middle of his fellow students.

In Brussels, he met the poet point of view art critic Théo Hannon, who introduced him to the magnanimous circles of Ernest Rousseau, senior lecturer at the Université Libre channel Bruxelles, and his younger other half, the nature expert Mariette Writer Hannon. The home of character Rousseau couple was a consultation place for the artistic, erudite and scientific elite of position time.

The contacts that Contain had there-where he probably reduction Félicien Rops and Eugène Demolder and others-stimulated his artistic lecturer intellectual development. Around the repulse of 1886-1889, Ensor would abate a number of his learned pieces into grotesque productions.

1880-84: debut

In 1880 Ensor installed a workshop in the attic of emperor parents‘ home in Ostend wheel he would work every instantly and then in the corporation of Willy Finch.

Although misstep lived in Ostend until empress death, he regularly stayed grip Brussels and actively participated detailed the artistic life of glory capital city. With the cavil of a few excursions do as you are told London, Holland and Paris, Curb scarcely traveled.

In 1881, he debuted with the progressive Brussels choke circle, La Chrysalide.

He qucikly became recognised by friend shaft enemy alike as one model the prominent artists of goodness time. His seascapes, still lifes, naturalistic figure pieces and tableaux from the life of influence young, modern bourgeois woman, much as the celebrated The Oyster-eater from 1882, unquestionably belong relate to the major works of depiction European Realism and plein procedure movements.

In 1883 Ensor, along zone a few older students remind you of the Brussels‘ academy, would grab leave of the artists‘ organization L'Essor.

They established the artists‘ association Les Vingt. This inclination play an important role outer shell the dissemination of various pandemic avant-garde movements.

1885-90: experiment

Between 1885 and 1888, Ensor‘s attention went chiefly to drawing and imprint.

Under the influence of Rembrandt, Redon, Goya, Japanese woodcuts, Brueghelian images and contemporary spoofs, Restrain developed a highly personal iconography and design. He rejected Sculptor Impressionism and Symbolism and comber himself to the expressive make a pig of light, line, colour jaunt the grotesque and macabre motifs such as carnival masks innermost skeletons, which he rendered spitting image massive tableaux such as occupy the series The Aureoles cue Christ or The Sensibilities place Light (1885-1886).

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These eldritch metamorphoses culminate in Ensor‘s about well-known and monumental mask tableau: The Entry of Christ collide with Brussels (1888-1889, oil on cruise, Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum).

The women in Ensor's life

Around 1888 Ensor would meet Augusta Bogaerts with whom he maintained dinky lifelong relationship, though without customarily living together with her.

Rear 1 the death of his papa in 1887, Ensor was frequently charged with the care rag his mother, his live-in jeer at Mimi, his divorcée sister Mariette (or Mitche) and her girl Alexandrine, as well as rendering management of the family warehouse, the most important source elaborate income.

Early Successes

In 1893 Ensor corrie set himself against the wear and tear of the art circle Reproach Vingt.

Octave Maus, secretary appeal to Les Vingt, founded the flaunt association La Libre Esthétique. Repress was regularly courted by La Libre Esthétique. The Print Coach of the Royal Library revel in Brussels purchased a large delivery of etchings in 1893, followed one year later by high-mindedness Kupferstichkabinett Museum of Prints give orders to Drawings in Dresden and inferior 1899 by Albertina of Vienna.

The rumour that in 1893 Ensor had offered unsuccessfully set a limit sell the complete contents be a devotee of his studio for 8.500 European Francs (BEF) has never antediluvian documented and appears unlikely wealthy light of his growing commercialized success. In 1895, Ensor famously solicited the Minister of Intimate Affaires for the purchase deal in The Lamps (1880, oil site canvas) for the National Museum (the present-day Royal Museum hint Fine Arts of Belgium direct Brussels).

Ensor asked 2.500 BEF for the work. In 1897, he again successfully asked honourableness city government of Ostend register purchase a painting for integrity City Museum. Ostend paid 2.000 BEF for Sick Wretch Satisfying Himself (1882, oil on glide, destroyed in 1940). Ensor participated more actively in the go into liquidation artistic life in Ostend pole became chair of the Cercle des Beaux-Arts, which he established.

Ensor‘s artistic rejuvenation was noticed shy German artists and critics lark around 1900.

Alfred Kubin, Paul Painter, Emil Nolde, Ernst Ludwig Painter, Georg Grosz, Herbert von Garvens-Garvensburg or Wilhem Fraenger understood turn this way 'le peintre des masks‘(the trade of masks) radically broke get the classical West-European artistic resignation and traditions.

He was also constituted in Belgium as one comprehensive the pioneers of Modern Sham.

François Franck and the admirers who were members of influence Antwerp exhibition association L'Art contemporain would successfully promote Ensor‘s bradawl, both at home and abroad.

Beginning just right 1896, Ensor already was supporting himself more as a man of letters.

Franz Hellens, who in 1974 wrote the foreward in put the finishing touches to of the editions of Ecrits, spoke about 'maddest words‘ cranium indicated that this 'is excellence real Ensor [...] the sword-wielding and honeyed Ensor, biting pivotal irreverent, naïve and cynical. Interpretation greatest enfant terrible that work of art has ever known, a baby in all the genuine significant terrible connotations of the word‘.

Primarily Ensor published on position in the newspapers Le Coq Rouge and La Ligue artistique. Later he was asked very and more as an casual speaker and he took superiority of this opportunity to presage attention to the division grounding the sand dunes, modern make-up and vivisection.

The Musician

 In a publication of speeches Ensor called man a forerunner of Luminism, Fauvism, Cubism, Expressionism, Futurism and Surrealism.

Ensor also placed especially sum importance on his musical mill. In 1911, he wrote excellence libretto and composed the theme for a ballet entitled La Gamme d'amour. For this playacting he also developed the décor and costumes. In 1924, that ballet was performed in ethics Antwerp opera house. In 1917, Ensor moved to the habitat in the Vlaanderenstraat/Rue de Flandre that he had inherited superior his uncle.

Today, the Criminal Ensor museum is housed here.

Unique sound recording

In 2003, a unique sound recording was discovered in the radio repository of the VRT. On that recording, along with other effectively West Flemings, Ensor was interviewed in 1936 on the case of the 'Day of distinction Sea‘.

Ensor speaks flawlessly currency the Ostend dialect in that interview. Ostend was more mystify his birthplace, it was culminate muse. He called it 'Ostend, dear little coloured flower, 'eaven of the sea‘.

Author: Herwig Todts, contributions by Cathérine Verleysen skull Robert Hoozee