James Ensor

Fülszöveg

I , •• I I I
'I,';. I!


Iti
( ' V' I ! "fl i' ,1.1
mm
pv'iii'v'V.'{;
mHMä
I' l ( -' ''!i'-Vi; m 'M ' r
M-^i'Vj t'i:.'' I
JAMES ENSOR
by Jacques Janssens
It took James Ensor nearly forty years of unremitting labor and persistent effort to gam a foothold m the art world and then finally to achieve fame. Today, thirty years after his death, he is considered throughout the world both an artist who continued the tradition and the line of the great Flemish masters and a forerunner of contemporary painting. It was from Ensor that contemporary painting derived in large part and from whom it gained its inspiration. The history of his life, quite a sad life, is primarily the account of a solitary and misunderstood artist, who suffered disparagement, slashing and cruel criticism, and was the butt of sarcasm; who sacrificed everything for the sake of his painting — struggling obstinately against odds and not allowing himself to be discouraged by setbacks, bitter experiences,... Tovább

Fülszöveg

I , •• I I I
'I,';. I!


Iti
( ' V' I ! "fl i' ,1.1
mm
pv'iii'v'V.'{;
mHMä
I' l ( -' ''!i'-Vi; m 'M ' r
M-^i'Vj t'i:.'' I
JAMES ENSOR
by Jacques Janssens
It took James Ensor nearly forty years of unremitting labor and persistent effort to gam a foothold m the art world and then finally to achieve fame. Today, thirty years after his death, he is considered throughout the world both an artist who continued the tradition and the line of the great Flemish masters and a forerunner of contemporary painting. It was from Ensor that contemporary painting derived in large part and from whom it gained its inspiration. The history of his life, quite a sad life, is primarily the account of a solitary and misunderstood artist, who suffered disparagement, slashing and cruel criticism, and was the butt of sarcasm; who sacrificed everything for the sake of his painting — struggling obstinately against odds and not allowing himself to be discouraged by setbacks, bitter experiences, or the difficulties of his existence, but drawing strength from a universe of dreams which was his refuge.
No artist has been more enterprising or more innovative. No other artist has explored so many new paths, all leading to different destinations, and each time has proceeded so far along them. His entire output is characterized by experimentation and creativity and displays exceptional diversity. He tackled every sort of art, every style, every technique. Whether one concerns oneself with his popular studies, his portraits, his bourgeois scenes, or the unusual and fantastic compositions in which he painted masks and skeletons, not to mention his landscapes, his still lifes, his religious pictures and, last but not least, his famous Entry of Christ into Brussels, an amazing accomplishment, in a class by itself, without precedent and without imitators, « one of the great artistic creations of our era,» his work shows unparalleled diversity and richness and reveals a tremendously eclectic and multifaceted artist, curious about everything, an inspired visionary of prodigious inventiveness, unbelievably original, whose imagination knew no bounds, who did not belong to any school, who was passionately in love with color and intoxicated with light, incredibly audacious, and far ahead of his time.
Jacques Janssens has dedicated himself to retracing Ensor's life and work and treats it sympathetically and understandingly in a clear, lively, poetic manner. His text, enhanced by illustrations carefully selected so as to constitute a panorama of Ensor's universe, enables the reader to understand the great artistic and spiritual adventure of a painter who was at once extraordinarily baffling and appealing, « one of the greatest painters produced by the modern Western world.» The step one has to take to go from history to the history of art is less of a giant step than might be expected for a historian influenced by the romanticism of Michelet and who is curious about humanity and also savors the picturesque, the beautiful, and the poetic. Such is the case of Jacques Janssens, who after several historical works, has taken time out to address himself to the lives and works of the great painters whom he loves. The result is James Ensor, subtle, evocative, and perceptive.
ß4 reproductions in color 27 reproductions in black and white
Illustration on the Front Cover: Intrigue, 1890 Oil on canvas, (detail) Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Künsten, Antwerp
Illustration on the Back Cover: Still Life with Shells, 1895 Oil on canvas, x 357,6" (64 x 90 cm.)
Private collection Vissza