James Ensor (1860-1949) - De Hoogmoed (1904)

This image shows a colored copperplate etching titled 'De hoogmoed (L'orgueil)' from the series 'The Seven Deadly Sins' by the Belgian artist James Ensor, dating from around 1904.

Characteristics of the artwork
- Artist: James Ensor (1860–1949), a well-known Belgian painter and etcher from Ostend (Belgium).
- Title: De Hoogmoed (1904)
- Dimensions: 33.5 x 29 cm
- Medium: Etching (colorized) - eau-forte aquarellée
- Year: 1904
- Signed: Yes
- Numbered: no, original
- Condition: Perfect condition
- Frame: included
- Back of the artwork: "James ENSOR Ostende 1860–1949 / De Hoogmoed 1904 (Taevernier Pl.t.122) on the reverse side stamp ‘Centre National pour l’Etude du XIX–XXme siècle de Belgique-HCH Mertens'"
- Representation: A central, self-satisfied figure in a suit surrounded by a bizarre crowd, grotesques and skeletons that embody the sin of pride.
- Technique: An (colorized) etching on paper, often manually enhanced by the artist with colored pencils or watercolor.

James Ensor – biography

James Ensor (Ostend, 1860–1949) is among the most important Belgian artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is regarded as a key figure bridging symbolism, expressionism, and modern art. Ensor lived and worked nearly his entire life in Ostend, where his family business dealing in souvenirs, shells, masks and curiosities provided a major source of inspiration for his extraordinary visual world.

After training at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, Ensor quickly developed a strongly personal style. In 1883 he co-founded the avant-garde artists’ group Les XX / Les Vingt, which included artists such as Théo van Rysselberghe, Fernand Khnopff and other prominent representatives of the Belgian avant-garde.

Ensor became famous for his paintings, etchings and drawings featuring masks, skeletons, grotesque figures, carnival, satire and social critique. His work combines a fascination with light and color with a dark, often absurd humor. In his graphic work there are clear references to the tradition of artists such as Rembrandt, Francisco Goya, Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Hieronymus Bosch, while his radical distortions and intense color use anticipated later expressionism.

Through this innovative visual language, James Ensor is often associated with artists such as Edvard Munch, Emil Nolde, Max Beckmann, Otto Dix and George Grosz. His fantastic and uncanny productions also formed an important precursor to Surrealism, which is why his oeuvre is frequently placed in the broader context of Belgian artists such as René Magritte, Paul Delvaux and Léon Spilliaert.

Among his best-known works is The Entry of Christ into Brussels in 1889 (L'Entrée du Christ à Bruxelles), in which Ensor fused religious iconography, carnival, politics and mass psychology into a monumental scene.

In addition to paintings, Ensor created an extensive graphic oeuvre of etchings, engravings and prints. This graphic work today occupies an important place within his oeuvre and within the history of Belgian modern art.

James Ensor is represented internationally in leading museum collections and is regarded, alongside artists such as Magritte, Spilliaert, Khnopff and Van Rysselberghe, as one of the best-known Belgian artists around 1900.

Keywords: James Ensor, Ensor Ostend, Belgian art, Belgian artist, Expressionism, Symbolism, Surrealism, Les XX, Les Vingt, Léon Spilliaert, René Magritte, Fernand Khnopff, Théo van Rysselberghe, Edvard Munch, Emil Nolde, Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, George Grosz, Francisco Goya, Rembrandt, Bruegel, Bosch, Belgian graphic art, etching, engraving, print, graphic art, modern art, modernism, avant-garde.