The etching "The Elephant's Joke" is one of Ensor's most fantastic etchings. At the top left, a figure is poking into the eye of an elephant, which in turn has swallowed a figure and crushed another - possibly a crusader. At the same time, the elephant pushes with its strange trunk against the hindquarters of a standing figure in the middle, who, as a result of the shock, flies into another figure. Behind the latter lies a monstrous creature whose entire body is covered with pus. In the central plan on the right, a cannon is positioned to fire at an oncoming herd of elephants. The enigmatic character of the etching recalls the fantasy of Ensor's etchings The Cataclysms and Wizards in a Squall (inv. 1998-B-37 and 52).
| Artist |
James Ensor
RKD
VIAF
Wikidata
|
|---|---|
| Title | The Elephant's Joke |
| Date | 1888 |
| Period | 19th century |
| Medium and support | etching AAT |
| Signatures, inscriptions, and markings | signatures (names) bottom right: Ensor |
| signature, title and year bottom right: James Ensor 1888 / Les éléphants singuliers | |
| inscription on the reverse: AT | |
| inscription on the reverse: 20 / D.51 | |
| Collection | print room |
| Object type | etching AAT |
| Inventory number | 1998-B-51 |
| Acquisition credit |
purchase
Taevernier, Auguste (coll.) 1998 |
| Current whereabouts | Work currently not on display |
| Permalink | https://mskgent.be/collection/work/data/1998-B-51 |
| IIIF Manifest | https://imagehub.mskgent.be/iiif/3/4062/manifest.json |
| Art & Architecture Thesaurus | 300056485 fantastic art AAT |
|---|---|
| Keywords Iconclass |
24A
sun as celestial body
Iconclass
25F25(ELEPHANT) trunked animals: elephant Iconclass 26C winds Iconclass 31A2237 buttocks, 'partes posteriores' Iconclass 31A62 defecation Iconclass 31A621 flatulence Iconclass 31A71 male sex; man Iconclass 31A72 female sex; woman Iconclass 31D112 child Iconclass 46E411 flags flown from a mast Iconclass 49E2513 binoculars, spy-glass, etc. Iconclass 56B131 Joke; 'Giuoco (dall'antico)' (Ripa) Iconclass |
| School / Style |
phantasy
satire (artistic device) AAT |
| 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. 51) |
| onder vrienden : 225 jaar verzamelaars rond het Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent (tentoonstelling Gent, Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 25.11.2023 - 28.04.2024) / Johan De Smet, Frederica Van Dam, Willy Van der Gucht, Manfred Sellink. - Gent : Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 2023 ; Gent : De Vrienden van het Museum, 2023 (p. 40, cat. 44 (ill.)) |
|
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