Art Knowledge News

 

MoMA announces an Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings, & Prints by Belgian Artist James Ensor

 Print E-mail
Written by rubin   
Monday, 06 April 2009 07:24

James Ensor (Belgian, 1860–1949) - Masks Mocking Death,1888 - Oil on canvas 32 x 39 1/2 in. - The Museum of Modern Art, NY Mrs. Simon Guggenheim Fund. Photo credit: Thomas Griesel - © 2009 Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY / SABAM, Brussels

NEW York, NY.- James Ensor (Belgian, 1860–1949) was a major figure in the Belgian avant-garde of the late nineteenth century and an important precursor to the development of Expressionism in the early twentieth. In both respects, he has influenced generations of later artists. This exhibition of approximately 95 of Ensor’s paintings, drawings, and prints will produce a complete picture of his daring, experiential body of work. Key issues that will be elucidated are the artist’s contribution to modernity, his innovative and allegorical use of light, his prominent use of satire, his deep interest in carnival and performance, and his own self-fashioning and use of masking, travesty, and role-playing.

Ultimately, this exhibition presents Ensor as a socially engaged and self-critical artist involved with the issues of his times and with contemporary debates on the nature of modernism. Will be on view 28 June through 21 September, 2009, at MoMA.

James Ensor (Belgian, 1860–1949) Self-Portrait with Masks. 1899 Oil on canvas 47 1/4 x 31 1/2 in. Photo credit: Menard Art Museum © 2009 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SABAM, Brussels Except for three years studying history and religious painting at the Brussels academy, James Ensor, a Belgian painter, printmaker, and draftsman, lived in Ostend, Belgium, all his life. He began his artistic career as a portrait painter but soon became involved with the avant-garde group Les XX (the Twenty), whose goal was to promote new artistic developments throughout Europe. Although Ensor was considered the group's leader and founder, he had sharp differences of opinion with other group members. Art critics treated the group harshly, and Les XX disbanded after a decade.

In the mid-1880s, Ensor suffered from an ulcer and from a personal crisis: his family forbade him to marry the woman he loved. He returned to painting religious subjects and plunged to the depths of despair when he decided to sell the contents of his studio in the 1890s. After the turn of the century, Ensor finally won acclaim and respectability. He was knighted and given the title of Baron. The 1908 publication of a book about his life and works confirmed his standing and reputation. In later years, he wrote music, designed sets for ballets, and continued to paint until his death at eighty-nine.

The exhibition is organized by Anna Swinbourne, Assistant Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture, The Museum of Modern Art, and is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue. The exhibition will travel to the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, from October 2009 to February 2010.

Additional funding is provided by the Society of Friends of Belgium in America and by The Kingdom of Belgium, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation.

Click on logo below to add this article to your favorite Social Website ~