With the help of 4.5 million euros in cash from Flemish government coffers Flanders is marking the 75th anniversary of the death of Ostend painter James Ensor (1860-1949) with a special Ensor Year. The half-English West Flemish painter is honoured at exhibitions in his native Ostend and in Antwerp, but also at an Ensor city festival. VRT is contributing too with dedicated radio broadcasts, a new documentary as well as the competition "Make Your Own Ensor". From the VRT archives comes the voice of Ensor himself with a restored sound recording from 1936.
2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the death of James Sidney Edouard baron Ensor, one of the great innovators of art. Ensor is known for his bizarre paintings with masks and skulls, but he was much more than that: he created socially critical works, wrote speeches, composed and played the piano. Not fitting into any one box, that was Ensor.
Ostend
The West Flemish seaside resort of Ostend, where the painter James Ensor lived and worked throughout his life, is fronting much of the Ensor Year 2024. The Mu.ZEE museum is running "Rose, rose, rose à mes yeux" , an exhibition devoted to his still lifes.
Ostend is also hosting a real Ensor city festival , with concerts, events and fun outings for children including the participatory exhibition "Great art for little connoisseurs" at Fort Napoleon. That’s with illustrator Thaïs Vanderheyden, who has created her own versions of famous Ensor paintings.
Brussels
Next spring, art museum Bozar in Brussels will highlight the musical side of James Ensor, because apart from drawing and painting, Ensor also played the piano and composed his own works. The Royal Library KBR is focusing on Ensor's connection with Brussels. And also welcomes the National Expo on Ensor (see further in this article).
Antwerp
In the autumn of 2024, the Antwerp art museum KMSKA, which has the richest collection of Ensors, is hosting "Ensor's wildest dreams". It’s a major exhibition at the Belgian museum that boasts the greatest number of Ensors but will also include numerous international loans. Other Antwerp museums including print museum Plantin-Moretus, fashion museum MoMu and photography FOMU are also joining in.
Ensor at the VRT
Unique archive sound: the voice of James Ensor
A remarkable interview with Baron Ensor has been preserved in the VRT sound archive. In 1936, the painter had an amusing conversation with writer and critic Karel Jonckheere in which he talked about all kinds of typical Ostend figures and expressions. Speaking with a strong Ostend accent Ensor spoke of his youth, his training as a painter and related how the city had changed over the years. In his youth skinny dipping was no exception on the beach outside the city centre!
BELUISTER - James Ensor haalt herinneringen op aan Oostende (opname van 6 augustus 1936):
New VRT documentary examines "the man behind the mask"
The brand new Ensor documentary "James Ensor - The Man Behind the Mask" is being aired on 1 February for the first time. It’s a co-production between VRT CANVAS and the Ostend Film Festival.
It features actor and dancer Sam Louwyck as well as contemporary artists Dennis Tyfus, Kati Heck, Fred Bervoets and Paul Mc Carthy. The latter is seen paying a visit to the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and the greatest Ensor painting: "The Entry of Christ into Brussels in 1889". Due to its frailty this masterpiece will not travel to Belgium for the Ensor year.
"Make your own Ensor" for a new National Expo
Feel like getting creative yourself? Next summer members of the public will be able to submit their own work to a National Exhibition. In the previous edition, more than 2,500 works were submitted. 100 of them, chosen by a jury and the general public, were exhibited at KMSKA up in Antwerp. Then, the source of inspiration was Rubens; now, of course, it is James Baron Ensor.
Art in all forms is welcome, as long as it refers to Ensor. In the summer of 2024, the selected works will be on display at the Royal Library KBR in Brussels. Some of them will be auctioned to benefit cancer charity Fight Against Cancer.
A National Ket-Exhibition for children is also being organised. Their assignment: to make an Ensor mask with recycled materials. Practical information on the National Exhibition, a collaboration between VRT, Museum Pass and the KBR, will follow in the spring.