A series of events, exhibitions and other activities to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the death of the artist James Ensor were unveiled during a press conference at Antwerp’s Royal Museum of Fine Arts on Monday morning. The Ensor Year 2024 will get under way in December 2023. The cities of Antwerp and Ostend will join forces and with support from the Flemish authorities remember the life and work of James Ensor (1860-1949). Several Brussels museums are also taking part in the project.
From December 2023 to August 2024 Ostend will host a plethora of events related to Ensor’s life and work. The festive year will be kicked off at Mu.Zee, with the "Rose, Rose, Rose" exhibition featuring the artist’s still life creations. From traditionally decorative pieces, Ensor progressed to increasingly challenging work.
In addition to this, you will be able to discover Ostend as a setting in Ensor's work in the Venetian Galleries. The Ensor House will show some of the artist’s Ensor's self-portraits and the theme of humor and satire within his oeuvre will feature in two consecutive exhibitions. Children can learn about Ensor in a fun and accessible way at Fort Napoleon.
In addition to exhibitions, Ostend is also planning a festival, featuring music, walks, theater, film, a writing project and a schools' programme.
Antwerp
The largest Ensor collection is at the Royal Museum of Fine Art (KMSKA) in Antwerp. It is there that one of the main exhibitions of the festival year will be held.
The exhibition’s theme is how Ensor’s work related to that of his international contemporaries. It encompasses Impressionism - a path Ensor very quickly left to seek his own experimental path - and Expressionism. The FoMu, the Fashion Museum and Plantin-Moretus Museum will highlight other aspects of his work and their contemporary impact.
Brussels
Ensor also had a special connection to Brussels due in part to him having studied there and having pursued various professional projects in the capital. The Palace of Fine Arts Bozar is doing its bit to show that Ensor was much more than a painter of masks and skeletons. The James Ensor, Maestro exhibition will focus heavily the role on music in his work.
The museum of the Royal Library is to stage an exhibition featuring a selection of items from James Ensor's personal collection and that of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in a historical setting.
The Flemish authorities supporting the Ensor festival year to the tune of 4.5 million euro.