James Ensor
28 Jun - 21 Sep 2009
Installation view of the exhibition, "James Ensor"
June 28, 2009–September 21, 2009. IN2087.4. Photograph by Jonathan Muzikar.
June 28, 2009–September 21, 2009. IN2087.4. Photograph by Jonathan Muzikar.
The Joan and Preston Robert Tisch Exhibition Gallery, sixth floor
James Ensor (1860–1949) was a major figure in the Belgian avant-garde of the late nineteenth century and an important precursor to the development of Expressionism in the early twentieth. In both respects he has influenced generations of later artists. This exhibition presents approximately 120 works, examining Ensor's contribution to modernity, his innovative and allegorical use of light, his prominent use of satire, his deep interest in carnival and performance, and his own self-fashioning and use of masking, travesty, and role-playing. Examples of Ensor's paintings, prints, and drawings are installed in an overlapping network of themes and images to produce a complete picture of this daring, experiential body of work. Ultimately, this exhibition presents James Ensor as a socially engaged and self-critical artist involved with the issues of his times and with contemporary debates on the very nature of modernism. The exhibition, which is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, will travel to the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, October 2009–February 2010.
Organized by Anna Swinbourne, Assistant Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture.
Flanders Fits You
MoMA wishes to sincerely thank our lead exhibition sponsor, Flanders House, the new cultural forum for Flanders (Belgium) in the United States.
The Museum gratefully acknowledges the important support and assistance of the Kingdom of Belgium, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation.
Additional funding is provided by the Society of Friends of Belgium in America, Maja Oeri and Hans Bodenmann, and The Winston Foundation.
Major support is provided by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Special thanks to American Airlines for assistance with air transportation.
James Ensor (1860–1949) was a major figure in the Belgian avant-garde of the late nineteenth century and an important precursor to the development of Expressionism in the early twentieth. In both respects he has influenced generations of later artists. This exhibition presents approximately 120 works, examining Ensor's contribution to modernity, his innovative and allegorical use of light, his prominent use of satire, his deep interest in carnival and performance, and his own self-fashioning and use of masking, travesty, and role-playing. Examples of Ensor's paintings, prints, and drawings are installed in an overlapping network of themes and images to produce a complete picture of this daring, experiential body of work. Ultimately, this exhibition presents James Ensor as a socially engaged and self-critical artist involved with the issues of his times and with contemporary debates on the very nature of modernism. The exhibition, which is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, will travel to the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, October 2009–February 2010.
Organized by Anna Swinbourne, Assistant Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture.
Flanders Fits You
MoMA wishes to sincerely thank our lead exhibition sponsor, Flanders House, the new cultural forum for Flanders (Belgium) in the United States.
The Museum gratefully acknowledges the important support and assistance of the Kingdom of Belgium, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation.
Additional funding is provided by the Society of Friends of Belgium in America, Maja Oeri and Hans Bodenmann, and The Winston Foundation.
Major support is provided by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Special thanks to American Airlines for assistance with air transportation.