James Ensor
Early Expressionism's Marginalized Nutter By Carrie TuckerOne of the great tragedies of modern art is that Belgian painter James Ensor's name isn't mentioned more often.
One of the great tragedies of modern art is that Belgian painter James Ensor's name isn't mentioned more often. Like the kooky great aunt who wears a bathrobe and tells self-referential dirty jokes at dinner, Ensor is early expressionism's nutter held by critics at arm's length. Born in the resort town of Ostend, Ensor's inspirations included deception, religion, social ills, and most importantly, himself. His work is dominated by images of masks fashioned after those sold in his parents' curiosity shop, above which he lived and worked after dropping out of the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. Even as a co-founder of avant-garde group Les Vingt (or "The 20"), Ensor was controversial and occasionally denounced by his own peers, especially as his work evolved from realistic portraiture into crude depictions of religion. During the latter part of the 1800s he reveled in clever disguise, depicting himself, for example, as a fish (Skeletons Fighting Over a Pickled Herring, 1891) or a drunk urinating against a wall which reads, "Ensor est un fou" ("Ensor is a nut job"). Ultimately, disenchanted with the art world and the dissolution of Les Vingt, Ensor turned to music until his death in 1949.
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