Un bon coin chez moi 1938

James Ensor made this painting of a corner of his home with oil on canvas. I can see it coming into being, bit by bit, with Ensor making a series of intuitive decisions and responding to his canvas. The image is mostly pinks and blues, and all of it is soft and kind of dreamy. I can imagine Ensor deciding to paint the things in his home that he loved and that made him happy. I feel that same kind of warmth towards my own stuff. There's a series of objects arranged on a dresser, vases and porcelain figures, but in the painting, the objects all seem to be moving and talking to one another. I think that Ensor's loose brushwork is what gives everything so much energy. It reminds me of how Bonnard used painting to transform everyday life into something joyful and magical. Artists are always learning from one another, aren't they?