James Ensor (1860-1949)

However mysterious Ensor's fantasies might seem, these creations are not without their foundations in reality. Together with his friend Ernst Rousseau, whom he met through the painter Theo Hannon, Ensor organised regular masquerades which he photographed and then used as an inspiration for his paintings.

Five years before this painting Ensor made a very similar version of Les Infâmes Vivisecteurs (See X. Tricot, 1992, no. 517)

See colour illustration