James Ensor (1860-1940)

LOTS 376 - 433 THE PROPERTY OF THE CORNELIS FAMILY, BY DESCENT FROM AUGUSTA BOOGAERTS Augusta Boogaerts (1870-1950) became Ensor's closest companion from about 1888 and remained close to him until his death. She never lived with him, yet she was the only woman, apart from his mother and sister, with whom he was on intimate terms. He nicknamed her 'La Sirène'. She was the daughter of an Ostende hotel owner and first met Ensor when he was 28 and she was 18. At the time she was working as a salesgirl in the Ensor family's souvenir shop. Both their families opposed the liason and although Augusta wanted to marry Ensor she was never able to persuade him into marriage. In an attempt to end the relationship her family sent her away for a period to England to study. Later on during her life she was to be away from Ensor for long periods as her profession of governess took her to France, Germany, Russia and other countries. But these absences only seemed to strengthen their relationship. She apparently was a strong willed character with a ready and caustic sense of humour which complimented Ensor's own personality. In later years Augusta virtually became Ensor's studio manager when he was finally receiving the critical recognition that was due to him and when his own energy was flagging. She supervised his production by arranging models and subjects for him to draw or paint. She made an inventory of his studio, promoted the sales of his work and took decisions on the printing of his etchings. The nature of their relationship is indicated by the story of the occasion when Ensor, expecting Augusta to call at the studio, went out leaving a note 'N'emporte rien, j'ai tout compté'. On his return he found the reply 'Ne compte rien, j'ai tout emporté'. Ensor was always discreet in referring to La Sirène in his notes and letters and in his paintings. However he did execute the celebrated Double Portrait of 1905 depicting Augusta Boogaerts seated looking with an enigmatic smile at the figure of Ensor who is reflected in a mirror (see P. Haesaerts, James Ensor, 1957, no. 372, repr. p. 347). Photographs of her are reproduced in Haesaerts, op. cit., p. 347, and G. Ollinger-Zinque, Ensor par lui-même, 1976, pls. 18 and 22. Ensor died in November 1949 and she survived him by only a few months. It was in 1899 with the special issue of La Plume devoted to him that Ensor's work began to receive critical acclaim. Up to that time his prints had no ready sale, and so relatively few impressions were taken. It was then that Ensor and Augusta Boogaerts began to issue the editions printed on simili-Japan of medium or large size, each print generally being countersigned on the reverse. The present group are on simili-Japan of uniform sizes, the large prints on sheets measuring 480 x 350mm., the smaller ones 300 x 240mm. As a group they display the range of the artist's subject matter and technique and amount to the most significant collection of the artist's prints to be offered at auction for some years

Details

James Ensor (1860-1940)

La Cathédrale (D., C., T., E. 7)

etching, 1886, on simili-Japan, Elesh's third (state of four), signed and dated in pencil, countersigned on the reverse, with margins, slight light-staining, some rubbing in the lower right margin and on the reverse sheet edges, framed
P. 247 x 182mm.

Lot Essay

La Cathédrale contrasts the towering possibilities of man's spirit and accomplishments with the crowds of mediocrity that surround the artist. 'In the 1886 print The Cathedral, the marvellously delineated Church stands as a magnificent and sphinx-like monument on which the grotesque members of the carnival mob in the foreground not only turn their backs, but from which they are separeted by a packed phalanx of the military. The Cathedral is not only a monument to the savior, it is the work and evidence of human genius, the towering possibilty of salvation rising above the greedy mob' (L. Tannenbaum, James Ensor, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1966)

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