James Ensor and the Graphic Experiment

- Published to accompany the exhibition Ensor’s States of Imagination at Museum Plantin-Moretus, Antwerp, Belgium, from September 24 2024 to January 5 2025

James Ensor (1860-1949) was a Belgian painter known for his provocative and innovative works, often featuring masks and grotesque figures. Through mediums like etching and lithography, Ensor delved into themes of existential exploration and the macabre. His graphic oeuvre showcases his mastery of line and form, inviting us into a realm where masks, skeletons, and surreal landscapes converge to challenge conventions and provoke thought. But how did Ensor make prints? What techniques did he use? Which old masters inspired him and in what way did he experiment with this medium? James Ensor and the Graphic Experiment gathers the most remarkable results of Ensor’s graphic experiments: preparatory drawings, copper plates and various states of prints. Image (c) Museum Plantin-Moretus, Antwerp

Willemijn Stammis is curator of modern and contemporary prints and drawings at Museum Plantin-Moretus. Ad Stijnman is a professional printmaker and an independent scholar of historical printmaking processes, specializing in manual intaglio printmaking techniques. Herwig Todts is an art historian and senior curator of modern art at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp.