In this coloured etching, Ensor gives his impression of bathing on the beach in Ostend. On the left is a large number of bathing coaches, which people could hire and in which they could change. After a coachman had harnessed the horse to the carriage, he drove the cart into the water and when they had arrived and taken the stairs, the coachman struck the roof with his whip, signalling that the guests could leave the vehicle. Then the 'ridiculous and disgusting creatures' were seen entering the water in their striped swimming costumes. For many natives and visitors to Ostend this was an amusing spectacle. Ensor had a different view of the event. His friend, the literary scholar André De Ridder, writes how Ensor "unites hundreds of these invaders, insulting the sea, with their faults and grotesqueries, in a mad dance in the water".
| Artist |
James Ensor
RKD
VIAF
Wikidata
|
|---|---|
| Title | The Baths at Ostend |
| Date | 1899 |
| Period | 19th century |
| Medium and support |
etching
AAT
heightened |
| Signatures, inscriptions, and markings | signature and year bottom right: Ensor 1899 |
| signatures (names) bottom right: James Ensor | |
| inscription bottom right: les bains à Ostende croqués à l'eau-forte / d'après nature. Un chaud froid de baigneuses / et baigneurs rougis, jaunis bleuis etc. / James Ensor | |
| inscription on the reverse: AT | |
| signatures (names) on the reverse: Ensor | |
| title on the reverse: Les bains à Ostende | |
| Collection | print room |
| Object type | etching AAT |
| Inventory number | 1998-B-115 |
| Acquisition credit |
purchase
Taevernier, Auguste (coll.) 1998 |
| Current whereabouts | Work currently not on display |
| Permalink | https://mskgent.be/collection/work/data/1998-B-115 |
| IIIF Manifest | https://imagehub.mskgent.be/iiif/3/4157/manifest.json |
| Art & Architecture Thesaurus |
300056485
fantastic art
AAT
300015636 landscapes AAT |
|---|---|
| Keywords Iconclass |
11P3121
priest (Roman Catholic)
Iconclass
22C light Iconclass 22C1 natural light Iconclass 24A sun as celestial body Iconclass 24A8 sunlight Iconclass 24A81 sunbeams Iconclass 25H1 landscapes in the temperate zone Iconclass 25H13 coast Iconclass 25H133 beach Iconclass 25H2 landscapes with waters, waterscapes, seascapes (in the temperate zone) Iconclass 25H23 sea (seascape) Iconclass 25H2311 wave Iconclass 25H2322(NORTH SEA) sea (NORTH SEA) Iconclass 31A2772 bathing (movement in water) Iconclass 31A2773 swimming (movement in water) Iconclass 31A2774 floating (movement in water) Iconclass 31A2775 diving (movement in water) Iconclass 31AA2772 bathing (movement in water) - AA - female human figure Iconclass 31AA2773 swimming (movement in water) - AA - female human figure Iconclass 31AA2774 floating (movement in water) - AA - female human figure Iconclass 31AA2775 diving (movement in water) - AA - female human figure Iconclass 33C232 (lovers) kissing each other Iconclass 41D231(BATHING SUIT) trousers, breeches, etc. (BATHING SUIT) Iconclass 41D2632 parasol, sunshade Iconclass 43B5 beach (as place of recreation) Iconclass 43B51 in or beside the water (on the beach) Iconclass 46A7 crowd, mob Iconclass 46C144 four-wheeled, animal-drawn vehicle, e.g.: cab, carriage, coach Iconclass 46C1531(+5) passenger carriage (+ types and use of conveyance) Iconclass 46C23 boat propelled by man or animal Iconclass 46C24 sailing-ship, sailing-boat Iconclass 46C25 steamship, motorship Iconclass 47K commercial fishery Iconclass 47K1 sea and coastal fishery Iconclass 49E2513 binoculars, spy-glass, etc. Iconclass 54DD311 Waiting, Watching 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. 115) |
| 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. 115) |
| Fin de Siècle : deel 1. Belgische tekeningen, pastels en prenten van 1885 tot 1905 ; deel 2. Combaz, Jo, Livemont : De verzameling L. Wittamer-De Camps (tentoonstelling Brussel, ASLK-Galerij, 15 maart - 2 juni 1991) / Marc Lambrechts, Anne Adriaens-Pannier, Pierre Baudson. - Brussel : ASLK, 1991 (p. 130, cat. 75 (ill.) [ets]) |
| James Ensor : Schrecken ohne Ende (Ausstellung Wuppertal, Von der Heydt-Museum, 12. Oktober 2008 - 8. februar 2009) / Gerhard Finckh, Joachim Heusinger von Waldegg, Herwig Todts, Norbert Hostyn. - Wuppertal : Von der Heydt-Museum, 2008 |
| James Ensor : An Intimate Portrait (exhibition New York, Gladstone Gallery, 06.11.2021 - 15.01.2022) / Sabine Taevernier, Herwig Todts, Xavier Tricot, Susan Maria Canning. - New York City : Gladstone Gallery, 2021 (p. 106-107, 108-109, 129, cat. 20) |
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