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Small Bizarre Figures, 1888

  • etching, paper
  • 131 x 94 mm
  • Inv. 1998-B-53

Public Domain

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The etching "Small Bizarre Figures" is essentially a portrait compilation of various members of the Rousseau family. Depicted at the top right is Ernest Rousseau, Ensor's bosom friend who was a professor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Top left is his son, Ernest Jr. Bottom right is possibly Mariette Rousseau. At the bottom left Ensor depicted himself in the company of a strange winged creature. The hybrid composition of the bodies of father and son Rousseau refers to Ensor's print 'Peculiar Insects', which is a more 'intimate' portrait of Mariette Rousseau and Ensor and was made in the same year, 1888.

Artist

James Ensor RKD VIAF Wikidata
Ostend 1860 - Ostend 1949
etchersAAT

Title Small Bizarre Figures
Date 1888
Period 19th century
Medium and support etching AAT
Signatures, inscriptions, and markings signatures (names) bottom right: Ensor
inscription left of centre: R [...]
seal, stamp on the reverse: AT
Collection print room
Object type etching AAT
Inventory number 1998-B-53
Acquisition credit purchase
Taevernier, Auguste (coll.)
1998
Current whereabouts Work currently not on display
Permalink https://mskgent.be/collection/work/data/1998-B-53
IIIF Manifest https://imagehub.mskgent.be/iiif/3/4065/manifest.json
Art & Architecture Thesaurus 300015637 portraits AAT
300056485 fantastic art AAT
300189808 figures (representations) AAT
Keywords Iconclass 25F711 insects Iconclass
25F711(BEETLE) insects: beetle Iconclass
25F711(DRAGON-FLY) insects: dragon-fly Iconclass
25F711(FLY) insects: fly Iconclass
33A5 friends Iconclass
52A4 Imagination; 'Imaginatione' (Ripa) Iconclass
52A44 Fantasy, Caprice; 'Capriccio' (Ripa) Iconclass
61B historical persons (portraits and scenes from the life) Iconclass
61B2 historical persons Iconclass
61B2(ERNEST ROUSSEAU) historical person (ERNEST ROUSSEAU) Iconclass
61B2(JAMES ENSOR) historical person (JAMES ENSOR) Iconclass
61BB2 historical persons - BB - woman Iconclass
61BB2(ROUSSEAU, Mariette) historical person (ROUSSEAU, Mariette) - BB - woman Iconclass
School / Style phantasy
satire (artistic device) AAT
Henri Leys, Henri de Braekeleer, James Ensor / Loys Delteil. - Paris : Chez l'Auteur, 1925
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. 53)
Onder de loep : Kunstenaars en wetenschappers op ontdekkingstocht in Genk (1800-1914) (tentoonstelling Genk, Emile van Dorenmuseum, 26.05.2013 - 17.11.2013) / Kristof Reulens. - Genk : Emile Van Dorenmuseum, 2013
Simryn Gill : de (hemi)cyclus van bladeren en papier = l'(hémi)cycle de feuilles et papier = the (hemi)cycle of leaves and paper (tentoonstelling Gent , Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 22.04 - 04.09.2016) / Catherine De Zegher, Jan Braet. - Gent : Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 2016 (p. 15)
James Ensor : An Intimate Portrait (exhibition New York, Gladstone Gallery, 06.11.2021 - 15.01.2022) / Sabine Taevernier, Herwig Todts, Xavier Tricot, Susan Maria Canning. - New York City : Gladstone Gallery, 2021 (p.78, p.126)
The Social Context of James Ensor's Art Practice / Susan Maria Canning. - London : Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2023 (p. 71 (ill. 2.11))
onder vrienden : 225 jaar verzamelaars rond het Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent (tentoonstelling Gent, Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 25.11.2023 - 28.04.2024) / Johan De Smet, Frederica Van Dam, Willy Van der Gucht, Manfred Sellink. - Gent : Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 2023 ; Gent : De Vrienden van het Museum, 2023 (p. 194, cat. 215 (ill.))
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