James Ensor (1860-1949), Roman Victory, etching and drypoint, 1889, signed, dated and titled in pencil, countersigned in pencil verso [also signed in the plate]. References: Delteil 78, Croquez 78, Taevernier 78, Elesh 78, second state (of 2). In good condition (remains of prior hinging bottom margin recto, slight mat toning not affecting image), with margins, 6 11/16 x 9 1/16, the sheet 10 3/4 x 12 3/4 inches.

A fine impression, printed in black ink on a cream wove paper, with plate tone.

In the second state Ensor added a crowd of viewers and marchers lower left in drypoint,  populated the fields in the background with a myriad of tiny marchers (including a troop on horseback and four tiny elephants), and finished the stormy sky.

The tiny windmill at the extreme right border indicates that this scene depicts Julius Caesar’s invasion and victory over Gaul in 57 B.C.  Many late 19th Century artists were captivated by ancient Roman or Greek historical events; Ensor was not one of them – he regarded this obsession with disdain – and Roman Victory is one of his very rare explorations in this realm.

Detail

Detail

James Ensor (1860-1949), Ostend Fisherman, etching and drypoint, 1900, signed in pencil, dated lower right, titled lower left, countersigned and titled verso [also signed in the plate, and with the word Ostend]. References: Elesh 123, Taevernier 118, Delteil 118. First state (of 2). In good condition (slight toning, prior hinging verso, slight rubbing top verso, including a lovely fingerprint lower right margin edge), with full margins, 5 5/8 x 4, the sheet 10 1/4 x 9 1/4 inches.

A fine impression of this great rarity; we have not encountered an impression of the first state of this print on the market.  Printed in black on a cream/tan  simile Japon paper.  The impressions pictured in Elesh, Delteil, etc., are of the second state.

This first state print is delicately printed; the composition is complete but in the second state the print is reworked rather heavily to produce a darker image.

Ensor was interested in the fishermen of Ostende from an early age.  This etching is surely based on a charcoal drawing Ensor made in the early 1880’s; another version was also made by his friend Willy Finch (Tournai, Musee des Beaux Arts). This etching shows a fisherman posing in Ensor’s studio, far from the natural environment which would have been the subject for most other artists. The style is of course close to that of many of Rembrandt’s etching portraits which Ensor studied and copied in his early years.

James Ensor (1860-1949), Les Peches Capitaux Domines Par La Mort (The Deadly Sins Dominated by Death), etching, 1904, signed and dated in pencil lower right, titled in pencil lower left [also signed in the plate lower right]. References: Delteil 126, Croquez 126, Taevernier 126, Elesh 131, only state. In excellent condition, printed on a simile japon paper, with full margins, 3 5/8 x 5 1/2, the sheet 9 3/8 x 11 5/8 inches.

A fine early impression, as indicated by the quality of the printing as well as the early Ensor signature.

The seven sins are represented by carnival figures: Pride as a soldier at the left, then Avarice holding a bag of money, Anger as a women furious at the man representing Lust, then Gluttony eating a sausage, Envy menacing a knife, and finally Sloth falling asleep while a snail creeps up his nightgown.

Detail

]]> http://harrisschrank.com/les-peches-capitaux-domines-par-la-mort.htm/feed 0 http://harrisschrank.com/boulevard-van-iseghem.htm http://harrisschrank.com/boulevard-van-iseghem.htm#comments Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:15:06 +0000 Harris Schrank http://harrisschrank.com/?p=1393 James Ensor (1860-1949), Boulevard Van Iseghem, Ostend, etching, 1889, signed in pencil lower right [also signed and dated in the plate lower right, and annotated "Ostende" lower left]. References: Delteil 66, Taevernier 66, Elesh 66, third state (of 3). In very good condition, with margins (remains of prior hinging verso), printed in greyish/brown ink on ivory simuli-Japan paper, 5 1/2 x 4, the sheet  9 3/4 x 6 1/8 inches, archival window mounting. A very fine impression, with exquisite detailing and clarity in the complex patterning of shades and textures in the buildings, street and sky. The impression quality is [...]]]>

James Ensor (1860-1949), Boulevard Van Iseghem, Ostend, etching, 1889, signed in pencil lower right [also signed and dated in the plate lower right, and annotated "Ostende" lower left]. References: Delteil 66, Taevernier 66, Elesh 66, third state (of 3). In very good condition, with margins (remains of prior hinging verso), printed in greyish/brown ink on ivory simuli-Japan paper, 5 1/2 x 4, the sheet  9 3/4 x 6 1/8 inches, archival window mounting.

A very fine impression, with exquisite detailing and clarity in the complex patterning of shades and textures in the buildings, street and sky.

The impression quality is evidence that this is an early impression. In addition Ensor’s signature conforms to that found in the early printings; it is quite likelythat this was signed about the time the print was created (Ensor had impressions made over a number of years).

This is a view of the seaside town roofs of Ostend, from Ensor’s studio.  In many of his etchings and paintings of the town he filled the streets with people, but here the streets are vacant, but for two tiny carriages parked halfway up the street.

A painting of the same view (and title)  is included in the major Museum of Modern Art show on Ensor; the painting is much more impressionistic than the print (it is not surprising that Ensor would chose this subject for work in various media, since it was the view from his studio, but other than having similar subject matter, the painting and the print do not appear related in any way; in addition the painting was done much earlier, perhaps c. 1880).

James Ensor (1860-1949),  etching, 1899, signed and dated (1900) in pencil lower right, countersigned and titled verso. The title verso is: “La Reine Parysatis ecorchant un eunuque” (Queen Parysatis flaying a eunuch). References: Elesh 121, Taevernier 116; Elesh’s second state (of 2). In very good condition, remains of prior hinging verso, on an ivory/tan simile Japon paper with wide margins, 6 3/4 x 4 3/4, the sheet 11 3/8 x 9 1/4 inches, archival matting.

A fine rich atmospheric impression, printed in dark brown/black ink with aquatint or grainy areas probably achieved through the use of phosphorus or other grainy elements.

Ensor illustrates an episode from Plutarch, in which the Persian Queen Parysatis, at the left, flays the eunuch who had killed her son. Her assistant stands at the center. Flames emanate from the helmets of those on the right, and a crowd of faces, one skeletal at the bottom, witness this sadistic happening.

James Ensor (1860-1949), Exterminating Angel (L’Ange Exterminateur), etching with drypoint, 1889, signed and dated in pencil lower right, also titled and countersigned verso. References: Delteil 77, Croquez 77, Elesh 77, Taevernier 77; second (final) state. In very good condition, on a Japan paper with wide margins, (remains of old hinging verso showing through at extreme corners). 4 3/4 x 6 1/8, the sheet 7 3/4 x 11 1/8 inches.

A fine impression printed in a grey/black ink, with substantial plate tone.

Provenance: ex Collection Johannes Hendricus de Bois (1878-1946), with his mark recto lower left corner (Lugt 733).

Only a few impressions of a first state of this print are known; one definitively identified in 2002 by Eric Gillis and Patrick Florizoone, published in the catalogue on Ensor prints presented for sale by CG Boerner.

Gillis and Florizoone note that this print “combines a Catholic element, the destroying angel of the apocalypse with the Flemish proverb ‘to go in one’s pants from fear.’ In his catalogue of the graphic works of Ensor, Albert Croquez made the link between this work and the painting [and print] by Henri Rousseau titled La Guerre. It is not very likely that the painting influenced Ensor, but it is possible that both artists were inspired by the same source, namely the parody of Le Tsar, published in the French magazine L’Egalite on October 6, 1889.”

James Ensor (1860-1949), La Mare aux Peupliers (The Pond at the Poplars), drypoint and etching, 1889, signed, titled and dated lower margin, also countersigned verso [also signed and dated Ensor 1889 in the plate]. References: Delteil 74, Elesh 74, first state (of two). In very good condition, with full margins, on Simili Japon paper, 6 1/4 x 9 3/8, the sheet 13 7/8 x 18 3/4 inches, archival matting.

A fine delicately printed impression of the rare first state, before the additional darkening lines to the bank at the right, before additional such lines throughout the foreground and in the background foliage.

The print is rarely seen on the market, particularly in a fine example in the first state.

In a tradition reminiscent of Breughel Ensor created landscapes with only a few or no figures (there is a man lurking in the reeds in the lower left of this example) while over-populating other works with various sorts of people, insects and other creatures. Perhaps the serenity of the scenes from nature were a useful antidote to the busy highly populated works, for both artists. La Mare aux Peupliers is one of Ensor’s larger, more ambitious (though no less serene) landscapes; it is impressionist in mood.