James Ensor House
The James Ensor House (Dutch: James Ensorhuis) is a museum for fine arts in the Belgian North Sea resort of Ostend . It was the last house with a studio of the Belgian painter and draftsman James Ensor (1860–1949), known as the “painter of masks” and a forerunner of Expressionism . The museum is owned by the city of Ostend.
1917 to 1949
In 1917, James Ensor inherited the narrow three-story town house at Vlaanderenstraat 27, near the beach promenade in Ostend, from his uncle Leopold Haegheman and his aunt. They had run a souvenir shop on the ground floor of the building, which dates back to the 19th century, where they sold postcards, souvenirs such as shells, toys and masks, which were particularly popular during Carnival time.
James Ensor closed the business after a short time, but left the furnishings and fittings on the ground floor unchanged. He moved into the house with his servant Auguste Van Yper and lived and worked there until his death in November 1949. He ran an open house for friends, admirers, critics, journalists and prominent guests.
1949 to 1973
After James Ensor's death, friends tried to preserve the building as a museum in his memory. The museum was opened in 1952, but many parts of the furniture had already been auctioned. Ensor's pictures, which hung in the rooms during his lifetime, are now in important museums and private collections. In 1956 the house came into the ownership of the city of Ostend. Due to high maintenance costs, it became increasingly dilapidated. The museum was closed. Demolition was discussed at times. In 1973 Ensor friends made a new attempt. The house has been extensively renovated. The conservator Frank Edebau (1915–1987) played a particularly important role in this.
Since 1974
In September 1974 the house was reopened as a museum in the presence of the Belgian Queen Fabiola . The visitors are welcomed on the ground floor with the former souvenir shop. Here visitors can buy photo postcards with scenes from Ensor's life and art postcards. A photo on display shows what the gift shop once looked like. Straight ahead, the stairs lead to the mezzanine floor with toilets that are not open to the public. In a small room on this level, the life-size sculpture “Poor Lauser, who warms” by the hyper-realistic Belgian sculptor Jacques Verduyn (* 1946) is reproduced. In the room at the front of the house is the document room with temporary exhibitions.
On the first floor, facing the street, is Ensor's Blue Salon, which he used as a dining room and reception room, studio and workshop. The furniture is original, but instead of the paintings from Ensor's possession, there are mostly reproductions, including the large-format work from 1889 “Christ's Entry into Brussels”. The original is in the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. It is framed by reproductions of etchings, including "Hop-Frogs Rache" (1898), "Die Liebfrauenkirche zu Mariakerke" (1936), "Strandete Boats" (1888), "Musik in der Flandernstrasse" (1891), "Teufel, who torment me ”(1895),“ Christ stills the storm ”(1886).
The poster for his exhibition “La Plume” (1898) is on Ensor's easel. Further reproductions show works by Ensor, which are in museums such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp or the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels . Besides the piano, the most striking piece of furniture is the magnificent baroque cabinet, which is depicted in various works by Ensor. The rooms on the second floor have not been restored and are not open to the public.
Web links
- James Ensor House , on the website of the Kunstmuseum aan zee
- James Ensor House on the website of the city of Ostend (Dutch)
Coordinates: 51 ° 13 ′ 59 " N , 2 ° 54 ′ 57" E