James Ensor: Self-Portrait w. Flowery Hat, 1883-8 - oil on canvas (Kunstmuseum am Zee, Ostend)
No single label adequately describes the visionary work produced by Ensor between 1880 and 1900, his most productive period. His pictures from that time have both Symbolist and Realist aspects, and in spite of his dismissal of the Impressionists as superficial daubers he was profoundly concerned with the effects of light. His imagery and technical procedures anticipated the colouristic brilliance and violent impact of Fauvism and German Expressionism and the psychological fantasies of Surrealism.
(via fuckyeahvictorians)
