The Cathedral
James Ensor (Belgian, 1860–1949)
1886
- Medium
- etching
- Classification
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 31 x 22.4 cm (12 3/16 x 8 13/16 in.); Platemark: 24.2 x 18.8 cm (9 1/2 x 7 3/8 in.)
- Culture
- Belgium, 19th century
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Prints
- Credit line
- Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Little Ones profiles and older: it shows gentle subjects for the very young. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
James Ensor used tiny, repetitive marks possible with etching to develop a new, expressive style that contrasted with that of most of his contemporaries. The Gothic architecture, worn facade, and overwhelming scale of the cathedral seen here in exacting detail show that it has withstood the test of time. Ensor juxtaposed the building with a dense crowd of grotesque figures that push forward seemingly irrationally, presenting a symbolic contrast between their whims and the permanence of both the church and the past.
