The Massacre of the Innocents 1921

James Ensor made "The Massacre of the Innocents" with some kind of dry media, maybe a crayon or sanguine chalk. The marks are loose, scribbly almost, like he’s thinking out loud on paper. It’s all in one color – a reddish-brown – which kinda flattens the whole scene, makes it feel like a nightmare playing out in a dusty attic. The lines are all tangled up, creating a sense of chaos and claustrophobia. There’s this one little figure in the bottom left, all scrunched up with these big, staring eyes, and it just sucks you right into the horror of it all. Ensor’s known for his unsettling imagery and grotesque figures, and this piece definitely fits right in. It reminds me a bit of Goya's darker works, but with Ensor’s own unique brand of weirdness. Art, for me, isn’t about giving easy answers, it’s about wrestling with the messy, uncomfortable parts of being human.