James Ensor

Auguste van Yper, Ostende (a gift from the artist)
Private Collection, Belgium
Thence by decent to the present owner before the 1980s

Brussels, Galerie Govaerts, Hommage à Paul-Gustave Van Hecke, 1969, n.n.
Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, L'Art en Belgique 1880-1950, 1978, no. 39
Paris, Galerie d’Orsay, Les Peintres Surréalistes, Delvaux, Ensor, Labisse, Magritte…,1999, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Xavier Tricot, James Ensor, Catalogue raisonné of the paintings, London, 1992, no. 701, illustrated p. 616
Xavier Tricot, James Ensor, The complete paintings, Ostfildern, 2009, no. 719, illustrated p. 397

The canvas is not lined. UV examination reveals two small spots (less than 1cm each) of retouching to the lower right quadrant. This work would benefit from a light clean, and is in overall good condition.
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Les bons Livres can be considered a portrait of James Ensor’s creative universe and an indirect self-portrait through his favourite belongings richly populating his studio. A vast array of books, iconic objects and shells are depicted and haphazardly displayed, reminiscent of the bric-a-bracs that used to dominate his parents souvenir shop in Ostend. The “good books” illustrated in the painting are self-referential to the artist and to the practice of art.

Ensor illustrates the covers of avant-garde publications ranging from the poet and journalist Charles Bernard’s Les Pompiers en Delire, a text of 1929 in favour of modern painting, to Franz Hellen’s Les-Hors-le-Vent, a collection of short stories published in 1909, steeped in magical realism and symbolism. The words “Journal” and “Poètes” on the left of the composition further echo this atmosphere of intellectual creativity, art, and knowledge which Ensor seeks to convey. As a pendant to these references, the artist also depicts an illustration of his painting from 1897 Les Masques et la mort on the cover of a special issue of the newspaper La Plume of 1899 dedicated to the artist and his seminal exhibition in Paris. A surreal face appears from the lower left of the work as if entering the scene, reminiscent of Ensor’s iconic masks dominating many of his masterpieces. A very personal work, this painting was given by Ensor to his loyal house keeper of more than two decades, Auguste Van Yper, in 1930 and encapsulates the artist’s magical realm.