Ensor & Brussels

While Belgian artist James Ensor (1860–1949) is forever associated with his seaside hometown of Ostend, it was in the bustling capital of Brussels that he thrived as an artist and emerged as a central figure in the European avant-garde.

The young painter settled in the city in 1877 and considered Brussels his second home until the turn of the century. This lavishly illustrated book explores the allure of Brussels, taking readers on a journey to discover the pivotal places, encounters and events that shaped Ensor as both an artist and a human being. With the master as a guide, the Belgian capital unfolds as a melting pot of prosperous bourgeois and struggling bohemians, conservative critics and rebellious artists, lively theatres and shadowy cafés.

This publication showcases more than two hundred works by Ensor from the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR) and the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (RMFAB). These comprehensive collections date back to the 1890s, representing the oldest public holdings of the 'painter of masks'

Royal Library of Belgium

February 22 - June 2 2024

Dr Daan van Heesch is Head of Prints and Drawings at the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR)
Dr. Davy Depelchin is a Curator of 19th-century Painting and Sculpture as well as a Curator of the Wiertz Museum and the Meunier Museum at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (Brussels)
Sarah Van Ooteghem is the Curator of Modern Works on Paper at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
Jean-Philippe Huys is Researcher at the Centre international pour l’Étude du XIXe siècle and the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
Lise Vandewal is a Research Assistant at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

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