Roman Victory, 1889

At the exhibition of the Brussels artist association Les Vingt in February 1891, Ensor exhibited eight paintings, six drawings and several etchings, among them the print "Roman Victory". In a letter of 5 January 1891 to Valère-Gille, director of the periodical La Jeune Belgique, Ensor elaborated on a large etching he was just making of a Roman victory march. He elaborately explains the kinds of animals that are carried along: lions, tigers, elephants, dromedaries, unicorns and stubborn goats. Furthermore, he gives some examples of who was walking in the crowd: strangely dressed men, grotesque musicians and Indians on ostriches. On 31 January 1891, he wrote to Valère-Gille again and informed him that his large etching of a Roman victory march had not succeeded and that he had sent a small version of the drawing and the etching to the Les Vingt exhibition. On the etching, we recognise some of the elements he listed, including the elephants with their riders and the Indians on their ostriches. In the foreground, we see a gladiator, preceded and followed by cavalrymen, musicians and market women. In the landscape, we see all kinds of Roman constructions such as triumphal arches and small aqueducts. As mentioned, the etching is based on the drawing of the same name (Brussels, Royal Library Albert I, inv. S II 29334).