The Intrigue (painting)

Last updated
The Intrigue
De intrige, James Ensor, 1890, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen, 1856.002.jpeg
Artist James Ensor
Year1890
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions90 cm× 149 cm(35 in× 59 in)
Location Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp
1911 Minneapolis version James Ensor - The Intrigue - 70.38 - Minneapolis Institute of Art.jpg
1911 Minneapolis version

The Intrigue is an oil-on-canvas painting created by Belgian expressionist painter James Ensor in 1890. This painting is in the possession of Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp and is part of the official inventory of Flemish masterpieces. [1] Ensor painted a second version in 1911, which is now in the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Contents

The use of masks in Ensor's paintings is prevalent. The masks and the use of colours increase the expressive quality of the painting. The sharp contrast that is created through the use of pure colours on white canvas is a follow up on French impressionist traditions. [2]

Description

The painting consists of 11 figures who are all masked. In the centre of the painting, a woman is taking a man's hand with a triumphant smile. The masks are revealing the figures' characters instead of hiding them. In the right corner of the painting, a woman is holding a doll or a dead baby. The colourful bodies create a contrast with the white background.

This painting is labelled as "grotesque" and "a group portrait". [3] This painting might still be considered as a realistic picture because of its few references to accurate depiction of the outside world, for instance the colour of the sky. [4]

Source of inspiration

Although Ensor is often categorised along with Vincent van Gogh and Edvard Munch as an expressionist artist, with The Intrigue he manifests his inclinations towards the path of Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Brueghel the elder in drawing and creating bizarre images. [5]

The story behind the painting is autobiographical and inspired by an actual event during Ensor's life. It depicts his sister's marriage with a Chinese art dealer from Berlin that caused a scandal in Ensor's hometown. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of painting</span> Historical development of painting

The history of painting reaches back in time to artifacts and artwork created by pre-historic artists, and spans all cultures. It represents a continuous, though periodically disrupted, tradition from Antiquity. Across cultures, continents, and millennia, the history of painting consists of an ongoing river of creativity that continues into the 21st century. Until the early 20th century it relied primarily on representational, religious and classical motifs, after which time more purely abstract and conceptual approaches gained favor.

Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the Western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abstract art</span> Art with a degree of independence from visual references in the world

Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Krasner</span> American abstract expressionist painter (1908–1984)

Lenore "Lee" Krasner was an American abstract expressionist painter, with a strong speciality in collage. She was married to Jackson Pollock. Although there was much cross-pollination between their two styles, the relationship somewhat overshadowed her contribution for some time. Krasner's training, influenced by George Bridgman and Hans Hofmann, was the more formalized, especially in the depiction of human anatomy, and this enriched Pollock's more intuitive and unstructured output.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry de Groux</span>

Henry de Groux was a Belgian Symbolist painter, sculptor and lithographer. His 1889 painting Christ attacked by a mob made when he was only 22 years old established his reputation as an innovative Symbolist painter and ensured his admission to the progressive artistic circles in Brussels. He spent most of his active career in Paris. He produced many works depicting the horrors of the First World War in the latter part of his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Ensor</span> Belgian painter (1860–1949)

James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor was a Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for most of his life. He was associated with the artistic group Les XX.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western painting</span> Art produced in the Western world

The history of Western painting represents a continuous, though disrupted, tradition from antiquity until the present time. Until the mid-19th century it was primarily concerned with representational and Classical modes of production, after which time more modern, abstract and conceptual forms gained favor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Painting</span> Practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface. The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and airbrushes, can be used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">20th-century Western painting</span> Art in the Western world during the 20th century

20th-century Western painting begins with the heritage of late-19th-century painters Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and others who were essential for the development of modern art. At the beginning of the 20th century, Henri Matisse and several other young artists including the pre-cubist Georges Braque, André Derain, Raoul Dufy and Maurice de Vlaminck, revolutionized the Paris art world with "wild", multi-colored, expressive landscapes and figure paintings that the critics called Fauvism. Matisse's second version of The Dance signified a key point in his career and in the development of modern painting. It reflected Matisse's incipient fascination with primitive art: the intense warm color of the figures against the cool blue-green background and the rhythmical succession of the dancing nudes convey the feelings of emotional liberation and hedonism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pattachitra</span> Traditional art work of West Bengal and Odisha, India.

Patachitra or Pattachitra is a general term for traditional, cloth-based scroll painting, based in the eastern Indian states of Odisha, West Bengal and parts of Bangladesh. Patachitra artform is known for its intricate details as well as mythological narratives and folktales inscribed in it. Pattachitra is one of the ancient artworks of Odisha, originally created for ritual use and as souvenirs for pilgrims to Puri, as well as other temples in Odisha. Patachitras are a component of an ancient Bengali narrative art, originally serving as a visual device during the performance of a song.

<i>Christs Entry Into Brussels in 1889</i> Painting by James Ensor

Christ's Entry Into Brussels in 1889 is an 1888 painting by the Belgian artist James Ensor. The post-Impressionist work, parodying Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem celebrated on Palm Sunday, is considered Ensor's most famous composition and a precursor to Expressionism. It has been held by the Getty Center in Los Angeles since 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Éliane de Meuse</span> Belgian painter (1899–1993)

Éliane Georgette Diane de Meuse was a Belgian painter. She was the wife of Max Van Dyck. They met at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts, Brussels where they attended the courses of the same professors.

<i>Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting</i> 1630s painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, also known as Autoritratto in veste di Pittura or simply La Pittura, was painted by the Italian Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi. The oil-on-canvas painting measures 98.6 by 75.2 centimetres and was probably produced during Gentileschi's stay in England between 1638 and 1639. It was in the collection of Charles I and was returned to the Royal Collection at the Restoration (1660) and remains there. In 2015 it was put on display in the "Cumberland Gallery" in Hampton Court Palace.

<i>Yellow Cow</i> 1911 painting by Franz Marc

Yellow Cow is a painting by the German artist Franz Marc, dating to 1911. It is one of the artist's most well known works, and is one of several of his depictions of animals in Expressionist style. This work is oil on canvas and measures 140.5 x 189.2 centimeters. The central motif of the painting is a jumping cow, surrounded by a colorful, structured landscape. The painting is characterized by the contrast between the dynamic central motif and the calm background.

<i>Street, Berlin</i> (Kirchner) 1913 painting by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Street, Berlin is an oil painting by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner painted in 1913 before the outbreak of World War I. At this time, Kirchner painted several different street scenes that illustrated the chaos of city life and the relationship between men and women.

<i>Self-Portrait as a Soldier</i> Painting by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Self-Portrait as a Soldier, or Selbstbildnis als Soldat, is an Expressionist oil on canvas painting by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Kirchner created this self-depiction in 1915, following his medical discharge from military service during the First World War. The artwork measures 69 centimetres in height by 61 centimetres in width. The painting was first exhibited in the 'Städtische Galerie' in Germany between 1916 and 1919 and currently resides at the Allen Memorial Art Museum in Ohio USA. Critical interpretations of the painting attribute its stark Expressionist style and myriad of symbolic elements to the socio-political turbulence of Germany during the First World War. Self Portrait as a Soldier may be viewed as testimony to Kirchner's volatile mental and physical health and as a critique of the chaotic instability of Germany during the early 20th century.

<i>The Rooftops of Ostend</i> Painting by James Ensor

The Rooftops of Ostend is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Flemish expressionist painter James Ensor. This painting is on the official inventory of Flemish masterpieces. The Rooftops of Ostend is in the possession of Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp.

<i>The Man of Sorrows</i> Painting by James Ensor

The Man of Sorrows is an 1891 oil painting by the Flemish expressionist painter James Ensor. This painting is enlisted on the official inventories of Flemish masterpieces and is a part of the great masters collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp.

<i>The Oyster Eater</i> (Ensor) Painting by James Ensor

The Oyster Eater is an oil painting executed in 1882 by the Belgian Expressionist artist James Ensor which is now in the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp.

Rachel Jones is a British visual artist. She has exhibited work in the UK at galleries and institutions including Thaddaeus Ropac, The Sunday Painter and the Royal Scottish Academy, and has been artist-in-residence at the Chinati Foundation (2019) and Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art in (2016). Her work is in collections of The Tate, Arts Council England, Hepworth Wakefield, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami.

References

  1. "De intrige". Topstukken-cjsm (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  2. "The intrigue". KMSKA. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  3. "The Intrigue". Art History Project. Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  4. Becks-Malorny, Ulrike. "Ensor". Taschen: 63.
  5. 1 2 "The Intrigue, 1911". Collections Arts Mia. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2020.