The etching "The Gendarmes" is associated with the painting "The Last Tribute to the Counts of Egmont and Horne" by Louis Gallait (Tournai, Museum of Fine Arts), one of the most important icon paintings of the Belgian Romantic period. Ensor took the bed with the two reclining figures from the painting. The placing of the bystanders in the print also seems to refer to the Romantic painting. However, the direct cause for the etching was the fishermen's revolt against the English fishermen in Ostend in 1887. In the print Ensor clearly sided with the oppressed and vehemently protested against the terror of the armed gendarmes. Ensor's vision is therefore diametrically opposed to the somewhat emotionless homage that Gallait paid to a highlight of Dutch history. The print "The Gendarmes" refers to the drawing "The Strike", also known as "The Massacre of the Ostend fishermen", from 1888 (Antwerp, Royal Museum of Fine Arts, inv. 1888). Ensor further elaborated the theme of "The Gendarmes" in a painting in 1892 (Ostend, Mu.ZEE, inv. 1950/160).
| Artist |
James Ensor
RKD
VIAF
Wikidata
|
|---|---|
| Title | The Gendarmes |
| Date | 1888 |
| Period | 19th century |
| Medium and support | etching AAT |
| Signatures, inscriptions, and markings | signatures (names) bottom left: Ensor |
| signature and year bottom right: James Ensor 1888 | |
| title bottom right: Les gendarmes | |
| stamps (tools) on the reverse: AT | |
| inscription on the reverse: 21 / D.55. | |
| Collection | print room |
| Object type | etching AAT |
| Inventory number | 1998-B-55-2 |
| Acquisition credit |
purchase
Taevernier, Auguste (coll.) 1998 |
| Current whereabouts | Work currently not on display |
| Permalink | https://mskgent.be/collection/work/data/1998-B-55-2 |
| IIIF Manifest |
https://imagehub.mskgent.be/iiif/3/4064/manifest.json
https://imagehub.mskgent.be/iiif/3/4068/manifest.json |
| Art & Architecture Thesaurus | 300056485 fantastic art AAT |
|---|---|
| Keywords Iconclass |
31A236
lying figure
Iconclass
31A71 male sex; man Iconclass 31E death of human being Iconclass 41D221(BEARSKIN HAT) head-gear (BEARSKIN HAT) Iconclass 43C128 fisherman Iconclass 44C4 political demonstration Iconclass 44C41 strike (political demonstration) Iconclass 44F revolution, revolt Iconclass 44G22 police Iconclass 45C13(SABRE) hacking and thrusting weapons (SABRE) Iconclass 45C14(BAYONET) helved weapons, polearms (for striking, hacking, thrusting) (BAYONET) Iconclass 45C16(RIFLE) firearms: rifle Iconclass 52A4 Imagination; 'Imaginatione' (Ripa) Iconclass 52A44 Fantasy, Caprice; 'Capriccio' (Ripa) Iconclass 61B2 historical persons Iconclass 61B2(LAMORAL, COUNT OF EGMONT) historical person (LAMORAL, COUNT OF EGMONT) Iconclass 61E(OSTEND) names of cities and villages (OSTEND) Iconclass |
| School / Style |
phantasy
satire (artistic device) AAT |
| Henri Leys, Henri de Braekeleer, James Ensor / Loys Delteil. - Paris : Chez l'Auteur, 1925 (nr. 55) |
| James Ensor : Catalogue illustré de ses gravures ; Leur description critique et l'inventaire des plaques = Geïllustreerde catalogus van zijn gravures ; Hun kritische beschrijving en inventaris van de platen = Illustrated catalogue of his engravings ; Their critical description and inventary of the plates / Auguste Taevernier. - Ledeberg (Gent) : Erasmus Boekhandel bv Amsterdam, 1973 (nr. 55) |
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