During this time, he was influenced by the nightmarish art of the earlier Flemish artists Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel. During this time, he also etched his best engraving, The Cathedral. In 1889, Ensor painted his masterpiece, The Entrance of Christ into Brussels. This immense 8 1/2 by 12 1/2 foot painting showed incredible detail and might have taken a less energetic artist well over a year to complete. However, it created a outraged the public and was not displayed until much later in 1919. The people felt it was blasphemous to show Christ so powerless, as Ensor had done. The Twenty, as well, refused to display this work and almost forced Ensor to resign from their group. This view of Ensor quickly changed, and by 1982 he was known as a master throughout Europe. This period of his painting, from 1885 to 1900, is referred to as post-impressionism. In 1896, Ensor's paintings were shown by themselves for the first time. Though he was commended by many critics, much of the public disliked his disregard for traditional rules of form and color. The symbolic topics and use of free, wiry lines combined with bold color appealed to the upper classes of Europe. These paintings later influenced German expressionist painters. After 1900, Ensor became a less aggressive artist and produced few notable works. Most of the paintings were similar to, or even the same as, his earlier art. However, these later versions were usually less vivid and detailed than the originals. In 1929, Ensor had finally achieved international fame, and exhibitions with his work were shown in various cities, most significantly Antwerp, Paris, Brussels, and New York. In 1929 Ensor was also made a baron by King Albert I of Belgium. In 1949, Ensor died at the age of 89. UP


James Ensor was first a painter, and secondly an etcher, or in other words, an artist. His art was a forerunner of both expressionism and surrealism. He was especially intent on death and hypocrisy. Many of his paintings show skeletons and demons, symbolizing hopelessness and spiritual decay. For example, in Skeletons Trying to Warm Themselves, painted in 1889, Ensor shows some skeletons' futile efforts to try to regain the light of life. Masks and Death, painted in 1897, shows a skull surrounded by masks, with demons overhead. The drawing Artist Decomposed shows himself as a skeleton, showing his fascination with death. The etching Triumph of Death, made in 1896, shows skeletons and demons with scythes flying freely above the city of Brussels, wreaking havoc on the frightened people below.