Envy 1904

This is James Ensor’s print, *Envy,* and looking at the marks, it feels like he probably made it using etching and drypoint. The lines are scrubby and scratchy, and there's this whole swarm of grotesque figures crowding around a central couple with a baby, their faces a riot of disapproval. The whole thing kind of vibrates with a weird, unsettling energy. It's like a scene from a nightmare, where everyone's judging you. I love how Ensor creates depth and texture through the density of his linework. Look at the way he renders the faces, each line digging into the surface of the plate, leaving a mark that's both delicate and raw. The colour is built up through many layers, with these unexpected, lurid pops of yellow and red. The whole thing looks like it’s been dug up from somewhere, like a buried memory, or a half-remembered bad dream. It reminds me of Otto Dix, the way he used the language of caricature to expose the dark underbelly of society. For Ensor, as for Dix, art is not just about beauty, but about confronting the messy, uncomfortable truths of human experience.