Mijn dode tante 1916

James Ensor made this drawing, titled Mijn dode tante, with graphite and colored pencil on paper. Looking at the delicate marks, I imagine him in the quiet space of his studio, the pencil moving slowly across the page. You can see where he has built up layers of lines to capture the stillness of his aunt’s face, now at rest. I sympathize with Ensor here, with the tender marks he makes while mourning his dead aunt. I wonder what it was like to sit there, drawing her. Her hands are crossed over one another and holding rosary beads. What’s especially moving is the way the blue pencil delicately renders the folds of her hands, as if still full of life, in contrast to the stillness of her body. You can sense Ensor’s broader practice in this one drawing, his preoccupation with mortality, and his sharp eye. Artists like Ensor remind me that we’re all in conversation across time, inspiring each other to see and feel more deeply. Painting is a way of talking about all those tricky things that are difficult to articulate, especially those that have to do with death and grief.