Decor 1929

Editor: Here we have James Ensor's "Decor" from 1929. It's a painting bustling with figures and architecture, a truly peculiar and fascinating cityscape! It almost feels like a dream, or maybe a very chaotic parade. What’s your interpretation of this piece? Curator: Dreamlike is a perfect starting point, because with Ensor, things aren't quite what they seem, are they? It’s as if the entire city has decided to put on a play, each building a different set, and the townspeople the actors. Editor: That’s a fun way to think about it! It's like he's jumbling perspective. Are those figures actually in the street or more like thoughts swirling around a city’s mind? Curator: Precisely! The flattening of space and the crowded composition invite us to ponder that blurred reality. Are those figures just… there? Ensor was deeply connected to his native Ostend, and carnival was HUGE there. That riot of color and satire... Ensor internalized it. Think of the masks, the blurring of identities, the social critique veiled in spectacle! Don't you almost hear a brass band faintly? Editor: Definitely! I hadn't connected it to carnival directly, but it makes perfect sense with the figures and the lively, slightly unsettling vibe. I wonder, is that unsettling feeling part of Ensor's intention? Curator: Oh, absolutely! Ensor challenges us, he throws a party and invites our anxieties. It's the strange beauty of seeing our world a bit askew, and that tension creates something very, very vibrant. Editor: So it’s like… looking at ourselves through a funhouse mirror, recognizing the familiar in a bizarre new way! Curator: Exactly! And that’s the delightful discomfort of Ensor, and why, for me, his art endures. Editor: I see the painting with new eyes now, thanks so much! This really has changed my perspective!