Exhibition 'The Scandalous Art of James Ensor'

With 60 paintings and drawings from the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles will show in what context the magnum opus of Ensor, the Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889, originates. In the Getty, people have said about the painting that it is, "an avant-garde masterpiece, Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889, a shockingly satirical indictment of modern Belgian society that is one of the Getty Museum's major highlights".

In addition to the loans from the KMSKA, the exhibition also displays a generous selection of sketches and drawings from the Art Institute of Chicago, amongst which is the fantastic drawing of The Temptation of Saint Anthony (1887). This monumental and ambitious drawing was acquired by the Art Institute in 2006, and was carefully restored. The drawing is being exhibited for the first time since 1951! In addition, the Christ's Entry into Jerusalem (1886) from the MSK in Ghent is also being exhibited. Moreover, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and other important American museums are loaning out significant works by Ensor.

The curator for the exhibition is Scott Allan from the J. Paul Getty Museum. In addition, Herwig Todts from the KMSKA is providing professional assistance.

After the exhibition, the loans will then travel to the Chicago Art Institute for the exhibition: Temptation: The Demons of James Ensor (November 23, 2014 until January 25, 2015). For this, the MSK of Ghent also loans out the painting, Children at their Morning Toilet.

The Scandalous Art of James Ensor
June 10 until September 7 2014
J. Paul Getty Museum Los Angeles
More info

(News Item June 4 2014)