Wednesday, 7 October 2026

James Ensor, the Belgian painter, and his early 1876 work “The Bathing Machine”

James Ensor, the Belgian painter, and his early 1876 work “The Bathing Machine”

Good Old Traditions of Self-Isolation.

Today is the birthday of the celebrated Belgian artist James Ensor (1860-1949), remembered chiefly for canvases of grotesque figures, skeletons playing the part of living people, and masks. But what came to my mind was his lonely bathing machine of 1876. This early realist work sits remarkably well with the present state of affairs.

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