James Ensor's birthplace in Ostend can be visited again

As of July 14, the birthplace of the great Belgian painter James Ensor (James Sidney Edouard, Baron of Ensor; Ostend, 1860 - 1949) in Ostend, Flanders, is once again open to the public. Here, Ensor spent much of his life: the public will not only be able to visit the renovated rooms, but also the new adjacent spaces, offered to provide interactive experiences and insight into the painter and the city.

The home belonged to the artist’s paternal family, and attached to the house was also a store of souvenirs, curios, masks and shells, which represented the primary source of curiosity for the artist’s imagination. Beginning in 1880, in fact, the attic became a studio for James Ensor from which he could see the streets and the expanse of open sea that would deepen his cross-cultural artistic quest.

As for the interactive center, which occupies new space on a 690-square-meter area, it is an immersive tour (with life-size reconstructions and documentary presentations) where the public is guided by Gust Van Yper, Ensor’s domestic servant, who will take visitors through its different sections: the Introduction to Ensor’s World, Interiors, Ensor’s Public Life, Criticism, Masks and Strange Figures. The itinerary concludes with a museum section in which temporary exhibitions are housed, the first of which is titled Ensor and Ostend (July 14-September 27, 2020) and is a survey of the close connection between the painter and his city through 27 works by the artist that include drawings, engravings, and paintings.

Mu.zee also contibutes to help tourists discover the figure of James Ensor with an exhibition dedicated to major Belgian artists from 1830 to the present day with an entire wing of the institute displaying 15 of his works, all owned by the museum. Interaction with Ensor then continues with the #MyEnsor challenge on TikTok: users are invited to create a personal mask, with a chance to win a stay in Ostend as a prize. For “tiktokker” enthusiasts, the city of Ostend is also launching a Tiktok walking route this summer: a walk along ten must-see places in the city that includes dances and accompanying tutorials for making your own videos.

To learn more you can visit James Ensor’s official website (available in Belgian, English, French, Spanish, and German) by clicking here.

Pictured: James Ensor (1907), portrayed by Henry De Groux. Ph. credit: Wikipedia

James Ensor's birthplace in Ostend can be visited again

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