James Ensor Figurative Prints
James Ensor is a Belgian painter and printmaker and an important influence on Expressionism and Surrealism. Ensor's early works, such as Russian Music (1881) and The Drunkards (1883), depict realistic scenes in a somber style, after which his palette subsequently brightened and he favored increasingly bizarre subject matter. Such paintings as The Scandalized Masks (1883) and Skeletons Fighting over a Hanged Man (1891) feature figures in grotesque masks inspired by the ones sold in his mother's gift shop for Ostend's annual Carnival. Subjects such as carnivals, masks, puppetry, skeletons and fantastic allegories are dominant in Ensor's mature work. Ensor dressed skeletons up in his studio and arranged them in colorful, enigmatic tableaux on the canvas and used masks as a theatrical aspect in his still lifes. Attracted by masks' plastic forms, bright colors and potential for psychological impact, he created a format in which he could paint with complete freedom. Ensor was a prolific and accomplished printmaker. He created 133 etchings and drypoints throughout his career, with 86 of them made between 1886 and 1891 during the height of Ensor's most creative period. Ensor himself recognized that the prints were a key part of his artistic legacy, stating in a letter to Albert Croquez in 1934, "Yes, I intend to go on working for a long time yet so that generations to come may hear me. I intend to survive, and I think of the solid copper plate, the unalterable ink, easy reproduction, faithful prints and I adopt etching as a means of expression.”
Early 1900s Modern James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching
1890s Post-Impressionist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching
1890s Surrealist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching
1880s Symbolist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Drypoint, Etching
Late 19th Century James Ensor Figurative Prints
Handmade Paper
1880s Surrealist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching
Early 1900s Surrealist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching
1880s Modern James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching
1880s Modern James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching
1950s Fauvist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Lithograph
1970s Surrealist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching
1910s Post-Impressionist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Drypoint, Etching, Intaglio
Early 1900s Post-Impressionist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Drypoint, Etching
1970s Surrealist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching, Aquatint
1970s Surrealist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching
1970s Surrealist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching
Mid-18th Century English School James Ensor Figurative Prints
Watercolor, Handmade Paper, Engraving
1960s Surrealist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching, Aquatint
1940s Surrealist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Drypoint, Etching
1980s Surrealist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching, Aquatint
Mid-20th Century American Modern James Ensor Figurative Prints
Handmade Paper, Etching, Aquatint
Early 1900s Surrealist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching
1890s Modern James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching
1880s Symbolist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching
1890s Impressionist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching
1880s Modern James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching
1880s Post-Impressionist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching
1880s Post-Impressionist James Ensor Figurative Prints
Etching
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Artists Similar to James Ensor
- 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022To show depth in his work, James Ensor would use linear perspective to set the scene for the observer. See the magic for yourself by shopping a selection of James Ensor’s pieces from some of the world’s top art dealers on 1stDibs.