De hoofdzonden gedomineerd door de Dood 1904

James Ensor made this etching, ‘The Seven Deadly Sins Dominated by Death’, in 1904. It's a flurry of etched lines brought to life with delicate hand-coloring. Imagine Ensor bent over the plate, coaxing these grotesque figures from the metal with acid and ink. I feel for him—conjuring those faces, each a caricature of human failing, with Death looming over them like a monstrous bird. Is he thinking about the old masters of the Northern Renaissance, like Bosch or Bruegel, who also loved to depict human folly? Or maybe he is looking in the mirror! The cross-hatching gives everything a scratchy, unsettling texture. And that blue! It's both flat and infinite, pushing the figures forward into our space. Look at the tiny details, the way he suggests volume and depth with just a few strokes. What do you make of the faces? Ensor shows us that painting is all about layering—ideas, images, and emotions. The results are never fixed but always open to change and interpretation.