Black Carnival. Ensor / Wojtkiewicz

November 27 / Herwig Todts

JAMES ENSOR AND THE REDISCOVERY OF THE GROTESQUE IN EUROPE
 

It was only during the 19th century, with the advent of “plein air painting”, that the representation of reality, nothing more and nothing less, became an end in itself. Ensor, too, was initially a staunch supporter of this artistic concept. This trend came to an end when, at the end of the 19th century, artists discovered that visual elements such as light, color, and form could be used autonomously. At the same time, artists such as Ensor rediscovered the late medieval tradition of the whimsical and the grotesque. Aspects that he and others in Europe also discovered in the art of Goya or the art of the Far East. 

Free tickets available from November 18

 

Dr. Herwig Todts is honorary curator of “Ensor and the Moderns” at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA). He studied art history at Ghent University under the great Ensor expert Marcel De Maeyer. He obtained his doctorate with the thesis “James Ensor, occasional modernist” (published by Brepols 2018). He is a freelance curator and expert, and advisor to the Ensor Research Project carried out by KMSKA in collaboration with the University of Antwerp, and a member of the Ensor Advisory Committee. He was curator and editor of the exhibition and publication of the same name, In Your Wildest Dreams. Ensor Beyond Impressionism (KMSKA and Hannibal Publishers). He was curator and co-curator of various exhibitions on Ensor and modern art in Antwerp, Brussels, Ostend, Paris, The Hague, Basel, Copenhagen, Munich, Seville, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Toyota, Singapore, Shangh


GUIDED TOURS IN ENGLISH / Black Carnival. Ensor/Wojtkiewicz

29 November/ Saturday / 1 PM

 

Join a tour with a guide from the Education Department. Let’s visit the exhibition together to discover its main topics and the most intriguing artworks.

 

meeting point in the Main Hall / tickets 45 PLN and 25 PLN available in the ticket office and online from Tuesday – two weeks before the event / before the tour please collect a headset from the Information Desk / approx. 80 minai, and elsewhere.