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Lot Essay
Already as a young boy James Ensor was influenced by the items he saw in his mother's souvenir shop. He developed a passion for curiosities, and often depicted these objects in his iconic still life paintings. He wrote: 'My mother, daughter of Ostend sea-shell traders, continued her parents trade and I spent my childhood in the paternal shop, surrounded by the curiosities from the sea and the splendours of mother-of-pearl with a thousand iridescent gleams and bizarre skeletons, monsters and marine plants. The proximity of these wonders, the colours, this light-filled, gleaming opulence, undoubtedly helped turn me in to a painter in love with colour and sensitive to the dazzling play of light.' (see: X. Tricot, James Ensor, life and work, the complete paintings, 2009, p. 13). Objects from the sea were not the only curiosities sold in his mother's store. Here, Ensor also saw Oriental objets d'art, and even more important, the masks which were sold for the annual Ostend festival and which would be of great inspiration to him.
The present lot was painted in 1925. At that time, Ensor lived at the Rue de Flandres in Ostend, in a house he inherited from his uncle in 1917. His uncle also ran an souvenir shop, but Ensor refused to run the shop as a business. He kept the store intact, and set up an attic studio, a sort of cabinet de curiosités, where he was surrounded by fantastical glittery objects, seashells, fans, collections of silk and pieces of Chinese ceramics, a constant source of inspiration for his paintings. The present painting lot is an arrangement of the personal possessions present in Ensor's studio. A Chinese vase filled with fresh flowers forms the center of the composition, flanked by two small sculptures, a number of shells, and other elements. In the right corner, two of Ensor's iconic masks are depicted. The objects together are a combination of tradition and fantasy, that is characteristic for the artist. Executed in luminous pink and blue tones, this enchanting still life clearly reflects Ensor's love of light and colour.
The present lot was painted in 1925. At that time, Ensor lived at the Rue de Flandres in Ostend, in a house he inherited from his uncle in 1917. His uncle also ran an souvenir shop, but Ensor refused to run the shop as a business. He kept the store intact, and set up an attic studio, a sort of cabinet de curiosités, where he was surrounded by fantastical glittery objects, seashells, fans, collections of silk and pieces of Chinese ceramics, a constant source of inspiration for his paintings. The present painting lot is an arrangement of the personal possessions present in Ensor's studio. A Chinese vase filled with fresh flowers forms the center of the composition, flanked by two small sculptures, a number of shells, and other elements. In the right corner, two of Ensor's iconic masks are depicted. The objects together are a combination of tradition and fantasy, that is characteristic for the artist. Executed in luminous pink and blue tones, this enchanting still life clearly reflects Ensor's love of light and colour.