Heads 1880 - 1883

Art Historian: Before us is "Heads," a drawing created with pencil by James Ensor sometime between 1880 and 1883. What feelings does this work evoke in you initially? Artist: It’s chaotic, yet somehow introspective. Like a thought spiraling out of control. It's raw. Gives me the jitters, actually. What do you see in these swirling lines? Art Historian: The clustered composition itself is striking. We observe not just forms, but a certain symbolic interplay—overlapping identities. Note, if you will, the subtle gesture toward societal multiplicity as represented through this gathering of figures. Ensor often investigated such relations. Artist: Gathering is kind. They seem trapped. Bound by those tight strokes. Does this confinement connect with Ensor’s experience—a sort of artist’s isolation, maybe? The face looks as if it is sinking, disappearing, as if society swallows the subject up. It makes my heart race. Art Historian: It might mirror the pressures Ensor perceived. Consider also that this overlaps with his early forays into Expressionism. Faces and masks became important emblems. The human form as both expressive and concealed. Artist: Yes, definitely masks! We use them for disguise. But it doesn’t quite hide you; maybe that is what gives me the chills, like I am almost seeing through them... The harshness, and the shading too – does it connect with other symbols or meanings that go beyond immediate recognition? Art Historian: Perhaps beyond mere forms. Masks traditionally symbolize transformative power—a threshold between identities. They are part of an active engagement with tradition, reflecting societal conditions and human complexities—a rich language beyond words. It evokes questions more than definitive answers. Artist: Yes. Absolutely. What strikes me the most? It is this sensation that Ensor unearthed something. His pencil strokes are filled with feeling! "Heads" doesn’t offer an answer, it shares an experience of humanity in all its chaotic rawness... I am glad to see this artwork today and to get the creeps one more time.