Christ Calms the Storm 1921

Curator: This etching, titled "Christ Calms the Storm," was completed in 1921 by the Belgian artist James Ensor. Editor: Right away, I'm struck by how raw and almost apocalyptic this scene feels. It's like witnessing a moment of sheer panic rendered in nervously etched lines. Curator: The linear quality is certainly key. Ensor employs etching, a printmaking technique, to build texture through the accumulation of closely-spaced marks, moving from light to dark across the scene. Notice, particularly, how this linear pattern generates forms and implies both the violent wind and turbulent waters. Editor: Absolutely. The colors, though muted, feel explosive. It's almost a monochromatic dance between the terrifying sky and the boatload of people struggling against it. Do you get a sense of anxiety emanating from the picture too? Curator: Indubitably, one gleans that easily, yes. Note how the Expressionist influence shapes this sense of foreboding. There’s a certain Baroque quality to the composition as well, the dramatic diagonal pull of the storm juxtaposed with the frail vessel. Ensor intensifies our awareness through a calculated visual contrast and skillful etching technique. Editor: It feels very much like a theatre of life to me. The figures onboard are like actors in a play facing oblivion. But also, perhaps facing salvation? Curator: Perhaps both, perhaps neither. Interpretation remains delightfully subjective. This artwork operates, on its simplest level, as a rendering of a well-known biblical scene, but what shines through more distinctly is the palpable emotional maelstrom. The viewer is compelled to engage with those core aspects, and perhaps even question their own place amid such visual pandemonium. Editor: I agree. It has been thought-provoking indeed to look closer at Ensor’s etching, it definitely offers more than first meets the eye. Curator: Quite so, with his unique mark-making on display for careful consideration.