Roofs at Ostend
Artist / maker
James Ensor (etchers)Date
1903Period
20th centuryCollection
Museum of Fine Arts Ghent
Between 1880 and 1917, the Ensor family lived on the corner of Vlaanderenstraat and Van Iseghemlaan in Ostend. It was here that Ensor created his most important works. From his studio, which was located under the tiled roof, he made various paintings, drawings and prints of the city. The print 'The rooftops in Ostend' is, in a way, a countercultural…
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Between 1880 and 1917, the Ensor family lived on the corner of Vlaanderenstraat and Van Iseghemlaan in Ostend. It was here that Ensor created his most important works. From his studio, which was located under the tiled roof, he made various paintings, drawings and prints of the city. The print 'The rooftops in Ostend' is, in a way, a countercultural cityscape that does not focus on the main attractions or provide a panoramic view of the entire city. Ensor depicts the south-western side of the city, in its unadorned ordinariness of untidy backyards and houses built at cross-purposes. The print is largely based on the painting of the same name from 1898 (private collection).
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