Artist of the Day: James Ensor

Today's artist is one of my favorites.  James Ensor (1860-1949) was a Belgian painter who was an influence on the surrealists and expressionists to come after him.  I didn't realize when I chose him as the painter today that he had been immortalized by the band They Might Be Giants, with their song "Meet James Ensor".  I will have to give it a listen.  Ensor liked to paint figures in grotesque masks, which is why I like him.  Most of his most interesting work was in the 1880's and '90's.  After that, critics say he painted little, and those he did complete were repetitive.  Here are a couple of paintings that I like, and a link to his wiki page below.

Top painting
Fighting Over a Herring, 1891
Oil on panel
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussel


Bottom painting
Intrigue, 1911
Oil on canvas
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussel

Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Ensor