James Ensor (April 13, 1860 – November 19, 1949)

                                                                                           

 

Old Woman with Masks

1889 

Ensor was one of the most influential artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. Though he began experimenting artistically with Realism and Post-Impressionism, he quickly moved on to vast and strange Expressionist pieces, often involving masks and macabre symbols, which are his most lasting works. It's easy to see how the latter movements of Expressionism, especially New Objectivity, and Surrealism benefited widely from Ensor's creativity. But in all of that strangeness that pervaded Ensor's works, there are often present notes of humor, which I think make his pieces so much the weirder and more wonderful. 

Children Washing

1886

 Skeletons Trying to Warm Themselves

1889

 Bathing Hut

1876

 Fall of the Rebellious Angels

1889

Portrait of the Artist's Father

1881

The Cab

1880-1882

The Bad Doctors

 1892