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James Sidney Ensor, Baron Ensor (April 13,
1860–November 19, 1949), was a
Belgium|Belgian painter whose unique portrayals of
grotesque humanity made him a principal precursor
of 20th-century expressionism and surrealism.



Ensor was born in Ostend, Belgium, in 1860, and
— except for three years spent at the
Brussels Academy, from 1877 to 1880 — he
lived in Ostend all his life. His early works were
of traditional subjects: landscapes, still lifes,
portraits, and interiors painted in deep, rich
colors and enriched by a subdued but vibrant
light. In the mid-1880s, influenced by the bright
color of the Impressionists and the grotesque
imagery of earlier Flemish Primitives such as
Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder,
Ensor turned toward avant-garde themes and styles.
He took his subject matter principally from
Ostend's holiday crowds, which filled him with
revulsion and disgust. Portraying individuals as
clowns or skeletons or replacing their faces with
carnival masks, he represented humanity as stupid,
smirking, vain, and loathsome. Outstanding in this
vein is his immense canvas Christ's Entry Into
Brussels in 1889 (1888, J. Paul Getty Center, Los
Angeles, California).

Ensor deliberately used harsh, garish colors and
violent, broken brushstrokes to heighten the
violent effect of his subjects. His work had an
important influence on 20th-century painting, his
lurid subject matter paving the way for surrealism
and Dada, and his techniques — particularly
his brushwork and his coloristic sense —
leading directly to expressionism. He died in 1949
in Ostend, where there is now a museum devoted to
his work.

In 1994 a new audience was introduced to James
Ensor when They Might Be Giants released the song
"Meet James Ensor," which aptly describes him as
"Belgium's famous painter."

In 1995, the state of Belgium recognized Ensor's
achievements by dedicating the 100-franc (~ 2.5
EUR) bill to him and his work, which ofcourse
disappeared again in 2002 when the Euro replaced
the Belgian franc.




==See Also==
*List of Belgian painters

== External links ==
*http://www.artinthepicture.com/artists/James_Enso
r/ James Ensor at Artinthepicture.com