Still Life with Chinoiseries

object number:

2076

measurements:

98 × 78 cm

date:

1880 - 1880

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Entry

This still life contains a collection of objects from the Far East including three Japanese fans, of which the handle of one has been placed in a tall vase. Behind the base is a Chinese teapot. There are some smaller objects in the foreground that are difficult to identify. These include a small, hexagonal porcelain jar with a spherical lid and a blue statue of an old man with a beard and red drapery. There is also a white feather and three different drapery elements: a cashmere scarf on the table, a heavier, carpet-like cloth that is partially folded, and a second scarf at rear right.

From the sixteenth century onwards, trading companies – and occasionally secret colonial initiatives by the Dutch and British East India Companies – imported tea, silk, porcelain and spices from China (an East-India Company was active in Ostend between 1722 and 1731 but this successful venture was dissolved as part of the European peace negotiations). Fascination with Chinese culture in eighteenth-century Europe prompted Chinese decorative motifs and architectural forms to be imitated and adapted into what came to known as chinoiseries. Ensor used the term chinoiserie for all of his still lifes in which he depicted a range of objects from the Far East. He also exhibited this work on one occasion under the title Vase and Textile, while in a letter to Emma Lambotte, he called the work La grande nature-more aux chinoiseries (The large still life with chinoiseries). This is a fitting title which allows us to distinguish this work from several others that Ensor simply dubbed Chinoiseries. On this occasion, he depicts Chinese tableware and a small blue and red statue of a Chinese deity; a statue he would use again in three still lifes circa 1906.

In 1853, a small American war fleet forced Japan to abandon its isolationism and participate in international trade. Soon after, Japanese art started to be collected and imitated in Europe. Ensor’s mother and aunt, Catharina and Maria (Mimi) Haegheman, ordered objects from the Far East from Siegfried Bing in Paris. We do not know whether Ensor personally owned the objects in this still life or whether he borrowed them from friends, such as the Rousseau-Hannon family. A drawing of the Chinese teapot and a Japanese fan of circa 1880/83 is believed to have come from the Ernest and Mariette Rousseau-Hannon collection. In this still life he depicted three Japanese fans: a sparsely decorated flat, fixed fan of bamboo and paper; a bamboo and paper folding fan with visible sticks; and a second flat, fixed fan decorated with a figurative scene.
Trade relations with the Indies were established by the East India Companies, but interest in Indian art and culture only flourished in Europe in the 19th century. Ensor utilised one or more examples of what were known at the time as Indian shawls.

Over the course of 60 years, Ensor painted more than 230 still lifes, amounting to a third of his painted oeuvre. With the exception of a short break around 1885/88, Ensor painted at least one still life a year. He considered the still life the most important genre and the touchstone of the true colourist. He painted some twenty smaller object studies in the years 1880 to 1881 that are clearly distinct from the full still lifes he painted between 1880 and 1883. These still lifes remain conceptually within a centuries-old tradition, but his choice of objects depicted (apples, meal ingredients including a Savoy cabbage, vegetables, meat, fish, oysters, flowers and decorative objects) is rather more modern, as is the sketchiness of the execution. The choice of components – Chinese and Japanese objects included – and the overall design are closely aligned with the work of the older Brussels avant-gardists and the Courbet disciples, Louis Dubois and Pericles Pantazis, whom Ensor would continue to admire throughout his life.

The composition is designed as a classic, theatrical, 17th-century showpiece still life: a range of valuable objects are displayed more or less in a pyramid arrangement on a cloth-covered table, with a further drapery piece as an elegant backdrop. Nearly a third of the composition is taken up by the scarf draped over the table. The objects are quite crowded and Ensor does not exploit their exotic and whimsical appearance. Ensor chose them for the rich colour accents and striking white surfaces of the fans and one fan’s light blue and occasional bright red accents. The rather sketchy depiction of the objects renders many of them difficult or impossible to identify, while the scenes on the vase or blue fan remain unreadably imprecise. The small objects at the base of the centrally placed Chinese vase are nothing more than spots – a style often referred to as tachism during the 20th century, as if it were an independent, indigenous form of Belgian impressionism, despite the fact that this development of realism or pleinairism was popular in France, the Netherlands, Germany and the Scandinavian countries too. Like the vast majority of Ensor's work, the composition is painted directly from life, without preparatory studies or preliminary drawings.

The size of the painting and its somewhat classic composition betray significant ambition. This work is one of the seven pieces from 1880 and1881 that Ensor exhibited in January at L’Essor, an association of students and alumni of the Brussels art academy. The work appeared together with another somewhat blue-hued still life of 1882 that can be seen in Ensor’s 1892 painting, My Favourite Room. He again chose this work for his first solo exhibition of 1894. In 1898, fellow artist, Constantin Meunier, and the critics Edmond Picard and Emile Verhaeren expressed the opinion that Ensor’s talents lent themselves best to still lifes like these. After 1905, at a time when he was actively seeking recognition for his pioneering work, he again chose this still life for a 1909 exhibition at Kunst van Heden / L'Art contemporain in Antwerp, as well as for the 1910 retrospective of his work put on by the Rotterdamse Kunstkring. Emma Lambotte-Protin subsequently acquired this painting for her private collection. It was later bought by the KMSKA in 1927.

The painting was executed on top of a study of a model that Ensor had painted at the art academy in Brussels. Ten academic studies from models have been ascribed to Ensor, only one of which was ever exhibited by Ensor himself. This was in 1929. Others come from the collection of Ensor's servant, August Van Yper. To date, the authenticity of these stylistically diverse model studies has never been questioned.

Entry

Still Life with Chinoiseries is painted on a plain weave canvas. During a 1958 restoration, tacking margins were trimmed, the work was lined with wax-resin and a few retouches were made to tears in the canvas. The ground is white, lead-based and only visible in a few places. Still Life with Chinoiseries was painted over an academic study of an old man with a beard, nude torso and probably a burgundy-red loin cloth, similar to the painting Old Man, (1878, inv. SM000216, Mu.ZEE Oostend).

The bearded man’s face appears first to have been painted facing forwards, and subsequently reworked in three-quarters view. This underlying work is still clearly visible through the paint layer of the still life, mainly because the paint layers applied over it were thin and have increased in transparency with time. No uniform, equalising mid-tone was painted between the two compositions; the still life was painted directly over the academic study. Parts of the background of the academic study were not painted over and were incorporated into the still life.

There are no carbon-based underdrawings beneath either composition. However, there are a few traces of a painted, rough composition sketch beneath the still life. The artist sometimes applied his paint very dilute with a hog-hair brush and sometimes very thick with a palette knife. He used a palette knife in various ways, both to add paint and to scrape it away. In some areas, Ensor scratched into the paint with the back end of his brush.

He painted this still life quite spontaneously with coarse painting strokes; even the detailing of the forms remains quite rough. This work is something of a quest for colour, texture and light.
The signature was added at lower right in two shades of red . A second signature was added in white paint but was subsequently overpainted. This was at lower left.

The PXRF measurements reveal the use of white lead, vermilion combined with an iron pigment, cobalt blue, cerulean blue, Naples yellow and earth pigments.
The existing varnish layer is yellowed and darkened and its application is uneven.

Materials and condition

Support

The painting is painted on plain weave canvas. The tacking margins of the work were trimmed away in the past as part of a restoration, leaving no information about the original tensioning. In 1958, the painting was lined by Frederik Bender,¹ using wax-resin impregnation. The remains of the wax from the lined canvas have mixed with the adhesive from the brown paper tape on the tacking margins. According to Frederik Bender’s condition report, the canvas is cotton, but this could not be verified during research as no material could be removed without damage to the paint layer.

fig 1: Detail of the left edge of the painting where the trimmed tacking margin is visible. The edges were finished with brown paper tape, visible at the top.

fig 2: Indication of tears on the x-ray.

The original canvas appears very brittle and the old tears are clearly visible on the x-ray. These tears were not listed in the 1958 treatment report. It only mentions a very thin canvas in an advanced state of decay, making its lining necessary.

The tears are visible to the naked eye. They are clearly visible within the paint layer. This is above all the case of the smallest tear at bottom centre where a lacunar area was not completely filled.

Ground layer

When he painted Still Life with Chinoiseries, Ensor reused an earlier painting, opting to paint directly over its paint layer without first applying a neutral-toned, intermediate layer.

The ground layer of the underlying painting is visible in places where Ensor scraped paint away with the back end of the brush or a palette knife, and where there has been wear and tear, particularly around the edges of the work. This ground is white in colour and appears quite thin and even. It was probably commercially applied.

There are several small lacunae scattered across the whole work with material loss extending to the stretcher. There is good adhesion between the ground layer and the canvas, and the ground layer and successive paint layers.

fig 3: Detail showing the painting’s ground still visible through the paint layer.

Underdrawing

No underdrawing is visible for either of these compositions, either with the naked eye or with infrared photography. Presumably the compositions were developed directly in paint.

Paint layer

As mentioned above, Ensor reused an earlier painting, on top of which he painted Still Life with Chinoiseries. The underlying work is a typical academic study. The x-ray shows a male nude, some of which is also visible to the naked eye. This is probably because some colours have become more transparent over time, while wear and tear may have occurred when the work was lined.

The top part of the composition can be clearly traced on the x-ray. It is a portrait study of a man with a beard and nude torso. The man’s face was originally shown facing the front (yellow line), but then reworked and fully developed in profile (red-white line). Pentimenti like this suggest that the artist had an inquisitive disposition.

fig 4: Tracing of the underlying academic study on a photograph in natural light. Edited in Photoshop.

fig 5: Tracing of the underlying academic study on the x-ray. Edited in Photoshop.

As the area under the man’s middle contains nearly no lead white, the x-ray reveals nothing about what the composition would have looked like there. There are many examples of academic studies of this sort. The man was presumably wearing a loin cloth, similar to many portraits in Ensor’s oeuvre, e.g. Old man, (1878, inv. SM000216, Mu.ZEE Oostend). A burgundy red colour shines through the lacunae and worn areas throughout this part of the painting, suggesting that he wore a red loin cloth.

This (underlying) paint layer was quite thinly applied with the exception of the figure. There are almost no areas where the structure of the underlying layer is visible through the overlying paint layer. For example, this is the case of the late work, Ensor at his Easel (1890, inv. 2809, KMSKA).

fig 6: Location of the detail under the microscope.

fig 7: Detail of the underlying red paint layer under x15 stereo microscope magnification.

Technique

Ensor painted the new paint layer directly over the old one, demonstrating a strong capacity for abstraction. The vase and fan are placed and developed over the figure. This figure and the background were only hastily covered with a liquid grey paint layer, through which the underlying skin colour and texture of the paint layer of the figure are visible in several places. The underlying figure can be clearly seen to the left of the foot of the vase. To the right of the vase and fan, the bridge of the nose, eyebrows and beard can still be made out.

fig 8: The underlying academic study is clearly visible through the paint layers of the still life. Significant parts of the underlying figure show through, particularly in the background of the still life over which a thin, grey, liquid paint layer was applied. To the left of the vase, the form of the shoulder, the skin colour and the texture of the paint layer can still be made out. To the right of the vase, the eyebrows, bridge of the nose and beard of the academic study are clearly visible.

The light grey strokes of the background of the fan were added last. They lie over the brown strokes of the fan. Part of the grey background colour of the academic study was incorporated into the still life; at far left it remained uncovered.

fig 9: Detail of the work with a lighter grey stripe visible in the background at far left. This is the paint layer of the underlying composition which was recuperated within the background of the still life.

Under the microscope, it is apparent how thin the fluid grey paint layer is. Presumably, its strength of coverage was greater when first applied. The underlying figure is clearly visible today as a consequence of wear and tear and the increased transparency of the paint. When a new layer of paint was applied over the textured older paint layer, the same amount of paint was not applied everywhere. In the deepest grooves and at the highest points, there is significantly less paint and this is where the underlying paint layer is most visible today.

fig 10: Detail image of the paint layer under magnification where part of the bridge of the nose of the academic study is visible beneath the thin grey paint layer of the background of the still life.

Bits of skin colour at the edge of the vase sometimes remain uncovered. This confirms that the vase was painted first and the background later. The initial lines of the vase can still be see in the bulge left of the fan. It is a black line, applied quite dry and thin. The painting strokes of the fan stop at the edge of this black line which remains partly visible due to its sketchiness.

fig 11: Location of the details.

fig 12: The form of the vase was painted in dry, black paint. The painting strokes of the fan stop at the edge of this black line which remains partly visible due to its sketchiness.

fig 13: The skin of the underlying academic study is partly visible under magnification (x15).

As well as heavily diluted brushstrokes applied with a hog hair brush, there are also impastos, some applied with a brush and others with a palette knife. The paint applied with a palette knife was mostly applied last. The palette knife used for this had a fairly narrow blade widening towards the handle.

fig 14: Detail of the background just above the middle fan. We can see how a thin layer of brown/grey paint was applied here with a stiff brush, probably hog bristle.

fig 15: Detail of the paint layer clearly showing the application of impastos with a palette knife. The paint applied with a palette knife was mostly applied last. The palette knife used for this had a fairly narrow blade widening towards the handle.

Three different shades of grey can be seen above the fan. The central shade is the original background colour of the portrait nude, lightly enhanced here and there with the dilute grey that covers the figure (area to the right). The fan, unlike the vase, was only added after the figure had been camouflaged. The somewhat paler shade to the right was then added after the fan had been completed; the grey strokes overlap the white paint of the fan (black arrows).

The fan was initially sketched in with a hog-hair brush. These strokes indicate the demarcation of a segment of the fan. The white impastos were applied over these with a slender palette knife. Ensor also applied various palette knife strokes alongside and overlapping one another. This is mostly found in the depiction of the fabric.

fig 16: Detail of the paint layer with the three background shades of grey from the still life.

fig 17: Detail of the edge of the middle fan showing how a light grey, liquid paint layer was applied over the edge of the fan. This indicates that the fan was painted before the addition of the pale grey background layer.

fig 18: Location of the details.

fig 19: Superposition of brush and palette knife strokes (x12).

fig 20: Superposition of palette knife strokes and fingerprints (x12).

Fingerprints can be seen in the paint here and there, for example in an ochre-coloured stroke in the fabric drapery depicted to the right of the table. These touches are more likely the result of a fast working method than of the deliberate application of paint with the fingers.

There was some variety in the way in which Ensor employed the palette knife. He used the palette knife both to apply impastos and to scrape paint away. He did this either by applying pressure to part of the blade or by scraping the entire blade over the paint layer while it was still wet. He did this mostly in the depiction of the fabrics. A transmitted light image shows the extent of this type of palette knife scraping. Thinner scratches were also added to the same area with the back end of a paintbrush (white arrow). Similar working methods can be found elsewhere in Ensor’s work.

fig 21: Location of the details.

fig 22: Transmitted light – showing the scraping technique and the application of paint with a palette knife.

fig 23: Detail of the paint layer at the lower right of the painting where red paint was applied/scraped away with a palette knife.

In several places, the artist let the coarse canvas structure play a role. If there is only a little paint on the blade of the palette knife, or if the paint is partially dry when applied, equal amounts of paint are not deposited everywhere, creating a textured paint layer. This is clearly visible in the fan.

fig 24: Location of the details.

fig 25: Structure of canvas through the paint layer.

Ensor did not paint impastos with a palette knife only. He used a fairly thin, long-bristled brush to depict the fringed edges of the tablecloth, depositing blobs of black paint over the paint he had previously applied with a palette knife.

For this depiction of fabric, he used a large amount of colour in addition to using a variety of application methods.

fig 26: Depiction of fringed edges.

fig 27: Various colours in a fabric detail (x8).

The depiction of the figures on the fan is particularly sketchy with a variety of application methods here too. The central figure was laid out with a few sharp strokes of the palette knife with the small details subsequently applied with a fine brush. However, the face of the figure on the right was sketched in with a paint brush.

fig 28: Detail of a face on the fan which was first laid out with a palette knife with the detailing of the face added subsequently with a thin brush and black paint.

fig 29: Detail of a face on the fan first laid out with a brush with detailing added subsequently with thin brush and black paint.

The objects depicted were built up from several overlying strokes. If we compare details of the statue alongside the version of the same statue in Still Life with Chinoiseries (1906, inv. 1959, KMSKA) of 1906, the evolution in technique is clearly visible. The 1880 Still Life with Chinoiseries is much more elaborate, with the paint much more intermixed and the figure barely recognisable, while the one from 1906 has thin layers of paint and defined areas of colour with pure and more intense colours.

Ensor did not strive to represent the fine detail of the chinoiseries in the 1880 Still Life with Chinoiseries, but rather to create an illusion of colour, texture and light. His rapid working method and his combination of techniques lent itself perfectly to this.

fig 30: Detail of the statue from the 1880 painting.

fig 31: Detail of the same statue from the 1906 version.

Signature

The artist signed the painting at lower right in shades of red. This signature was added over an already dry layer of paint beneath. This layer is not mixed with the underlying colours anywhere.

The artist first added the signature, J. Ensor 80, in red paint. He then traced over Ensor and 80 in a darker red paint; the darker red paint visible in the UV image.

fig 32: The signature on the 1880 Still Life with Chinoiseries in normal light. This signature was applied in two different shades of red.

fig 33: The signature on the 1880 Still Life with Chinoiseries under UV light. The signature was partially traced over with a slightly darker shade of red which is visible under UV light.

There was a second signature at the lower left of the painting but this was overpainted. Here, the artist wrote J. ENSOR in white paint. This signature was overpainted in red and brown paint.

fig 34: Detail photo of lower left in normal light. The second signature, J. ENSOR was added in white and partly overpainted in shades of orange/brown/red. As a result, the signature is barely visible on the painting.

fig 35: Right: The same detail of the signature with the signature traced digitally with a white line.

Pigment use

These results were based on 22 pXRF measurements taken by Geert van der Snickt in the context of his doctorate at the University of Antwerp. ²

White: a large amount of lead (Pb) was detected in all the measurements taken, indicating the use of a lead-based white ground layer; the white used in the paint layer is also lead white, just like in his other works from the same period.

Red: as well as mercury (Hg), a component of vermilion red, iron (Fe) was also measured. Elsewhere in the artist’s work (e.g. The Skate, 1880, inv. 2188, KMSKA; Lady with the Red Parasol, 1880, inv. 2197, KMSKA; Afternoon in Ostend, 1881, inv. 1852, KMSKA) the red paint measurements indicate a combination of vermilion and an iron-based pigment.

Blue: the measurements indicate the use of cobalt blue (Co), as well as tin (Sn) in some cases, suggestive of a variant of cobalt blue, i.e. cerulean blue.

Yellow: the yellow Ensor used may have been Naples yellow, just like in other works of the period.

Brown: the artist may have used various iron-based pigments – also known as earth pigments – in keeping with the spirit of the times.

Damage and restorations

The paint layer reveals an extensive network of cracquelure, similar to other works painted over older paintings. In particular, the areas covering the skin, where the paint application is often quite thin, are cracked.

fig 36: Detail of the cracks in the vase.

fig 37: Detail of the cracks in the fan (x20).

The black paint layer of the fan has a grainy appearance, causing the light to scatter, creating a white sheen. As no similar phenomenon was detected in the black areas elsewhere, this may be something arising from the paint layer itself; we are inclined to think these are lead soaps. Further research might reveal whether this is indeed a case of damage, or whether the paint used was grainy.

fig 38: Location of damage.

fig 39: Detail of ‘damage’ in black paint layer(X40).

There are several disturbing retouches overlapping the original. This can be seen around the old tears, and elsewhere. The retouche of the smallest tear appears to lie beneath the varnish layer.

fig 40: Retouche over a tear clearly overlapping the original.

fig 41: Retouche of a large tear under UV light.

Surface finish

The varnish layer was applied in a quite thick and irregular way and dates from the last restoration carried out in 1958 by F. Bender at the museum. It has yellowed significantly and may also have darkened.
Under UV light, it appears very patchy with the formation of small islands of varnish.

fig 42: Detail under UV light with visible retouches over the varnish.

fig 43: Uneven varnish layer.

History of the painting

Acquisition history

Albin Lambotte Collection; bought by Albin Lambotte, 1927.

Restoration history

1927: Bought by the museum from the Albin Lambotte Collection
1958: Restoration by F. Bender (specifications)
1983: Mentioned in J. Bender’s annual invoice; precisely what he did is not recorded. The retouches over the varnish layer may relate to this intervention.

fig: Restoration report C. Bender (RES 0398/2076).

Exhibition history

1894/ 1895, Brussels, Comptoir des Arts Industriels La Royale, s.c.;
1909, Antwerp, l'Art Contemporain. Salon 1909, no. 171;
1910, Antwerp, Cercle Royal Artistique, Littéraire et Scientifique, no. 25;
1910, Rotterdam, Rotterdamsche Kunstkring, Tentoonstelling van Werken van James Ensor, no. 26;
1921, Antwerp, Kunst van Heden. Exhibition 1921, no. 97;
1925, Basel, Kunsthalle, Ausstellung Belgischer Kunst, no. 63;
1926, Paris, Galerie Barbazanges, p. 17;
1929, Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, James Ensor, no. 33;
1932, Paris, Musée National du Jeu de Paume, Jardin des Tuileries, L'oeuvre de James Ensor, no. 5;
1946, London, National Gallery, The Works of James Ensor, no. 26;
1950, Elisabethville, Salle de la Victoire, Exposition Peinture Belge contemporaine, no. 23;
1974, Bosque de Chapultepec, Museo de Arte Moderno, Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura, Tres Maestros de la imaginación. Ensor. Magritte. Delvaux. El Surrealismo en Belgica y su antecedente, no. 3, image;
1981, Tel Aviv, The Tel Aviv Museum, James Ensor. 1860-1949, no. 6, image;
1983, Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen, James Ensor, no. 19;
1983, Zürich, Kunsthaus Zürich, James Ensor, no. 16, image p. 81;
1983/ 1984, Kobe, The Modern Museum of Art, James Ensor, no. 14, image p. 46;
1984, Kamakura, The Museum of Modern Art, James Ensor, no. 14, image p. 46;
1984, Saitama, The Museum of Modern Art, James Ensor, no. 14, image p. 46;
1984, Sendai, Miyagi Museum of Art, James Ensor, no. 14, image p. 46;
1991, Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen, In dienst van de kunst. Antwerps mecenaat rond 'Kunst van Heden' (1905-1959). Retrospective exhibition, no. 61, image p.
1993/ 1994, Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen, In depot / uit depot. De modernen in het koninklijk museum;
1999/ 2000, Brussels, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Ensor, no. 17, image p. 80;
2000, Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen, Mo(u)vements. Kunstenaarsbewegingen in België van 1880 tot 2000;
2003, Saint Petersburg, Russian Ethnographic Museum, James Ensor (1860-1949). Antwerp presents a Painter, no. 3, image;
2005, Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, James Ensor: Japonisme to Modernism, no. 32, image p. 70;
2005, Tsu City, Mie Prefectural Art Museum, James Ensor: Japonisme to Modernism, no. 32, image p. 70;
2005, Fukushima, Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art, James Ensor: Japonisme to Modernism, no. 32, image p. 70;
2005, Kitakyushu, Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, James Ensor: Japonisme to Modernism, no. 32, image p. 70;
2005, Takamatsu, Takamatsu City Museum of Art, James Ensor: Japonisme to Modernism, no. 32, image p. 70;
2010, Mexico, Xochimilco, Museo Dolores Olmedo Patinõ, James Ensor, image p. 43;
2010/ 2011, Brussels, ING Culture center, Ensor unmasked, no. 58, image p. 64;
2011, The Hague, Gemeentemuseum, James Ensor. Universum van een fantast, image p. 86;
2012, Aichi, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, James Ensor in Context. Ensor and the History of European Art from the Collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, no. 37, image p. 059;
2012, Ehime, The Museum of Art, James Ensor in Context. Ensor and the History of European Art from the Collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, no. 37, image p. 059;
2012, Tokyo, Seiji Togo Memorial Sompo Japan Museum of Art, James Ensor in Context. Ensor and the History of European Art from the Collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, no. 37, image p. 059;
2012/ 2013, Iwate, Iwate Museum of Art, James Ensor in Context. Ensor and the History of European Art from the Collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, no. 37, image p. 059;
2013, Okayama, The Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art, James Ensor in Context. Ensor and the History of European Art from the Collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, no. 37, image p. 059;
2013/ 2014, Ordrupgaard, James Ensor Fra Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen og schweiziske samlinger, no. 7, image;
2014, Basel, Kunstmuseum,The surprised masks: James Ensor from the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp and Swiss collections, no. 7, image;
2014, Los Angeles, The J. Paul Getty Museum, The Getty Center, The Scandalous Art of James Ensor (no catalogue);
2014/ 2015, Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, Temptation: The Demons of James Ensor (no catalogue);
2016, Deurle, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Biënnale van de schilderkunst Yoknapatawpha (not in the catalogue);
2016/ 2017, London, Royal Academy of Arts, Intrigue: James Ensor by Luc Tuymans, no. 5, image p. 48;
2018/ 2020, Oostend, Mu.ZEE, Dreams of mother-of-pearl. The ENSOR collection of the KMSKA in Ostend, (not in the publication);
2021, Mannheim, Kunsthalle, James Ensor, no. 69, image p. 138;
2021/ 2022, Munich, Kunsthalle München, Fantastically real. Belgian modern art from Ensor to Magritte, no. 44, image p. 106;
2023/2024, Oostend, Mu.ZEE, Rose, rose, rose à mes yeux. James Ensor and still life in Belgium, no. 32, image p. 68;

Still Life with Chinoiseries

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Material technical footnotes

Art historical footnotes

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