JAMES ENSOR EXHIBITION IN LIVERPOOL

Sunday, 01 July 2007 21:06

Liverpool - A major British exhibition of works by Belgian artist James Ensor is at the Lady Lever Art Gallery between 30 June and 22 September 2007. Masquerade: the work of James Ensor (1860 – 1949) features 30 prints, three drawings and one painting by the artist who is considered to be an innovator in 19^th century art and a forerunner of the surrealist painters of the 20^th century. Ensor created macabre visionary artworks, some of which were inspired by the poetry of American horror writer Edgar Allan Poe. Exhibition organized in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent.

They feature skeletons, masks and weird faces as well as religious and mythical themes. Featured as the centrepiece of the exhibition is one of Ensor’s most important works – the colourful painting Old Lady with Masks (1889).

Other haunting and disturbing works – many in monochrome – include Demons Chasing Me, Christ Descending into Hell, The Deadly Sins Dominated by Death, Death Chasing the Flock of Mortals, Skulls and Masks, Haunted Furniture and My Dead Father.

Xanthe Brooke, curator of European fine art and exhibition organizer, says: “Ensor’s work was extremely innovative for his time, especially his paintings and etchings.

“The colour, violence, savagery and fantasy elements are familiar attributes of later art movements – particularly German Expressionism and Belgian Surrealism.

“He was a politically-active anarchist in his youth and promoted his views in some of his most bitter, often crude, satires against the hypocrisies of the political and religious establishments.”

Ensor was born in Ostend, Belgium, to an English father and Belgian mother and lived there all his life apart from a brief period of studies in Brussels. He lived above his mother’s shop and items from it such as souvenirs, masks and nick-nacks feature heavily in his work. Life in Ostend itself, a seaside resort and fishing port where carnivals were held, was also a big influence on his work.

Visit National Museums Liverpool - 127 Dale Street - LIVERPOOL L2 2JH - Tel: 0151 478 4612 - www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk