A special Ensor etching found at Kringwinkel Antwerp
A surprising discovery at Kringwinkel Antwerp: among the donated items, an authentic etching by James Ensor was found. The work, Le meuble hanté (The Haunted Furniture), depicts a young man in front of a cabinet from which a skeleton emerges, inspired by the macabre jokes of the Rousseau family in Brussels.
From donation points to home clearance services, items arrive at Kringwinkel Antwerp through various channels. Everything is collected and sorted in one central warehouse. During this process, Charlotte, an employee at Kringwinkel Antwerp, came across an etching that caught her eye. “She suspected it might be an original Ensor and brought it to me for a second opinion,” says Davy, supervisor at the online auction platform Uwkringding. “Since I shared her suspicion, we immediately contacted an expert.”
The authenticity of the etching was confirmed by our Ensor experts. With its extensive collection and the Ensor Research Project, the KMSKA is the perfect destination for this unique find.
The etching, Le meuble hanté (The Haunted Furniture), is a well-known print by James Ensor. The work shows a young man in front of an antique cabinet, from behind which a skeleton emerges. The theme is inspired by the living room of the Rousseau family in Brussels, who owned a skeleton named Aglaë and used it for macabre pranks.
“The etching is typical of Ensor. Not only did he use a recognizable type of paper, but he also had the habit of signing and dating his etchings in pencil afterward,” says Herwig Todts, Ensor expert at KMSKA. “The title Le meuble hanté appears more often in Ensor’s oeuvre: there was a painting destroyed during WWII, a drawing currently on display in our exhibition Ensor’s Wildest Dreams. Beyond Impressionism, and of course, the etching. Multiple identical prints of the etching exist, found in the collections of Mu.ZEE, MSK Ghent, KBR, and now also in the KMSKA.”
We are temporarily exhibiting the etching in Ensor’s Wildest Dreams. Beyond Impressionism. Afterwards, this fragile work will be carefully preserved. Thanks to the right expertise and specialized facilities, the museum is the ideal place to store such light-sensitive paper artworks. The etching will be shown on carefully selected occasions.
Display - Photo by Sanne De Block
Display - Photo by Sanne De Block
Kringwinkel Antwerpen and the importance of reuse
Kringwinkel combines environmental care with social employment: items get a second life, and people distanced from the labor market get an opportunity. Through shops and the auction site Uwkringding, donations are maximally valorized, helping to reduce waste and create jobs. Although unique finds like the Ensor etching are rare, remarkable items are sometimes discovered during the sorting process. To identify valuable objects, staff receive targeted training and use digital tools such as databases and apps.
With this donation, Kringwinkel Antwerp underscores the value of reuse and the unexpected treasures that often appear during sorting. Finding an Ensor etching is extraordinary, but it highlights the immense value that can be hidden in donations.
