The theme of Ensor's satirical print "The Bad Doctors" goes back to an old visual tradition, in which doctors are reduced to money-making caricatures and characterised as quacks and charlatans. Not infrequently, the supposed link between the practice of the doctor and death is emphasised. All these elements are also present in Ensor's print, including the doctors ordering each other around and the man with the scythe sneaking into the room. The doctors depicted were all professors at the medical faculty of the Université Libre de Bruxelles. From left to right they are represented: Jules-Adrien Thiriar, Emile Yseux, Guillaume Rommelaere, Jean-Joseph Crocq and Joseph Sacré. The unfortunate patient has not been identified. The print "The Bad Doctors" is based on the painting of the same name from 1892 (Brussels, collection Université Libre de Bruxelles).
| Artist |
James Ensor
RKD
VIAF
Wikidata
|
|---|---|
| Title | The Bad Doctors |
| Date | 1895 |
| Period | 19th century |
| Medium and support | etching AAT |
| Signatures, inscriptions, and markings | signature and year bottom left: J. Ensor 85 |
| title top centre: Les mauvais médecins | |
| inscription centre below: femme X crevée / a 7 heures / recu mille francs / Expedier Z / Rien recu / j'ai laissé l'éponge / dans le ventre / peritonite se déclarere | |
| signature and year bottom right: James Ensor 1895 | |
| title bottom left: Les mauvais médecins | |
| inscription on the reverse: AT | |
| inscription on the reverse: 11 / D 97 | |
| Collection | print room |
| Object type | etching AAT |
| Inventory number | 1998-B-97-1 |
| Acquisition credit |
purchase
Taevernier, Auguste (coll.) 1998 |
| Current whereabouts | Work currently not on display |
| Permalink | https://mskgent.be/collection/work/data/1998-B-97-1 |
| IIIF Manifest | https://imagehub.mskgent.be/iiif/3/4127/manifest.json |
| Art & Architecture Thesaurus | 300056485 fantastic art AAT |
|---|---|
| Keywords Iconclass |
23A
allegory of Time and Eternity
Iconclass
25F6 fishes Iconclass 25F6(HERRING) fishes (HERRING) Iconclass 31A236 lying figure Iconclass 31A46 diseases Iconclass 31A461 pain Iconclass 31A71 male sex; man Iconclass 31F symbols and personifications of Death Iconclass 31F2 personifications of Death; 'Morte' (Ripa) Iconclass 31F26 Death as skeleton Iconclass 41D221(NIGHTCAP) head-gear (NIGHTCAP) Iconclass 41D221(TOP HAT) head-gear: top hat Iconclass 47C433 screwing (screw) Iconclass 49G medicine, medical science Iconclass 49G1 physician, doctor Iconclass 49G2 patient, sick person Iconclass 49G331 enema, squirt Iconclass 52A4 Imagination; 'Imaginatione' (Ripa) Iconclass 52A44 Fantasy, Caprice; 'Capriccio' (Ripa) Iconclass 56BB1 Pain, Sorrow, Sadness; 'Dolore', 'Dolore di Zeusi' (Ripa) Iconclass 57A Good and Bad Behaviour, Moral Qualities Iconclass |
| School / Style |
phantasy
satire (artistic device) AAT |
| Henri Leys, Henri de Braekeleer, James Ensor / Loys Delteil. - Paris : Chez l'Auteur, 1925 (nr. 97) |
| James Ensor : Catalogue illustré de ses gravures ; Leur description critique et l'inventaire des plaques = Geïllustreerde catalogus van zijn gravures ; Hun kritische beschrijving en inventaris van de platen = Illustrated catalogue of his engravings ; Their critical description and inventary of the plates / Auguste Taevernier. - Ledeberg (Gent) : Erasmus Boekhandel bv Amsterdam, 1973 (nr. 97) |
|
Do you have any suggestions, questions or information about this work? Write us, collectie.msk@stad.gent |
