Lot Essay
Whilst Ensor is arguably best known for his masques (see lot 13) and procession paintings, these mysterious dream subjects only represent one aspect of his oeuvre. His relatively rare still-lifes of 1880 and 1890 confirm his position as one of the great colourists working outside France at the end of the last century. Throughout his career, whatever the subject, Ensor was obsessed with harmonies of colour, compositional balance and the musicality of light effects: "J'ai donné un style très libre, le beau style du peintre, style réflétant mes mépris, mes joies, mes peines, mes amours; style de rappels harmonieux, style musical, style sonore, style de plume et de pinceau, et mes masques sont venus d'ici et de la mer." (Letter to André de Ridder, 2 August 1928.)
Still-lifes of the 1890s incorporating many of the same elements as the present work are housed in the Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart (T. 304), the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp (T. 320) and the Art Institute of Chicago (T. 376).
Still-lifes of the 1890s incorporating many of the same elements as the present work are housed in the Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart (T. 304), the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp (T. 320) and the Art Institute of Chicago (T. 376).