Visiting Ensor

Theatre & exhibitions

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Ensor’s birth, the exhibition “Bij Ensor op Bezoek” (Calling on Ensor) takes place in the art museum by the sea for Belgian art (Mu.ZEE) in Ostend.

Status

completed - 2010

Location

Mu.ZEE, Ostend

Client

Mu.ZEE

Team

Evert Crols, Dirk Engelen, Sven Grooten, Dries Otten

It reunites all artists, writers, cinematographers, museum directors and collectors who once paid Ensor a visit. Not only friends or locals paid Ensor a visit. People the likes of Wassily Kandinsky, Emil Nolde and Edouard Vuillard travelled to Ostend to meet him. The master’s studio and the blue living room were the settings for many talks about politics, literature and arts. That living room, the Blue Saloon, is used as the pivotal part of the exhibition with James Ensor as the flamboyant albeit somewhat eccentric host.
The monumental rooms of Mu.ZEE are painted deep blue and are decorated from top to bottom with anecdotes, photographs, letters, paintings, masks, etc... referring to Ensor’s life. Big tables, comfortable armchairs, curtains, Persian rugs and plants help the visitor feel as if he were a guest at Ensor’s home.

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