Welkom home! Works by James Ensor from the KBC collection.

KBC Bank owns a rich art collection in which the oeuvre of James Ensor occupies a prominent place. The temporary exhibition 'Welcome home!' at the James Ensor house puts the KBC Bank's Ensor collection in the spotlight until 29 August 2021.

The collection comprises prints - etchings, drypoints and lithographs - as well as oil paintings and drawings such as an interesting self-portrait from 1883, based on a photograph. 

The paintings in the collection are very diverse and cover different periods in the artist's career. There is a self-portrait from 1878, a still life from 1880, a view of the Ostend market from 1882, a typical Ensorian work from 1905, called 'Pierrot and Skeletons', and finally, a painting from 1912 with the poetic title 'Faded Perfume, Withered flowers'. For this work Ensor found inspiration in a print by the French artist Jean-François Janinet (1752-1814) after a painting by the Swedish painter Niclas Lafrensen (1737-1807), entitled 'L'Aveu difficile' (The difficult confession).

The Ensor collection from the KBC Bank illustrates in a striking way the varied styles and different art techniques mastered by the Ostend artist.

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