Generous donation of James Ensors Les Gendarmes from Dr. Richard Simms heightens special collections of the Getty Research Institute

May 12, 2010

LOS ANGELES—The Getty Research Institute announced today a gift of James Ensor's hand-colored etching Les Gendarmes (1888). The work is a gift from Dr. Richard Simms of Los Angeles, who has been a generous supporter of the Getty Research Institute, providing loans and gifts including the etched version of Ensor's masterpiece, Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1888 (etching, 1898), which was donated by Dr. Simms in 2003.

"Dr. Simms has been an extremely generous donor, both in works of art and in the commitment of time to support our Research Council," says Thomas Gaehtgens, director of the Getty Research Institute. "This most recent donation Les Gendarmes not only strengthens our collection of his work, but greatly deepens our understanding of the artist's multifaceted modernity, his mastery of painting and his talent as one of the best printmakers of the nineteenth century. We cannot thank Dr. Simms enough for helping us build our extraordinary collection and being such good friends of the Getty Research Institute."

Produced around the time of Ensor's most iconic painting, Christs Entry into Brussels in 1888 (1889), which is part of the holdings of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Les Gendarmes is axiomatic of the brief period in which Ensor's experimental transformations of traditional aesthetics aligned perfectly with his radical commentaries on the authority of church and state.Les Gendarmes is one of the very few printed images inspired by an actual event. In the summer of 1887, at the harbor of Ensor's hometown of Ostend, Belgian fishermen protested the incursion of English fishing vessels into their waters. The situation had serious diplomatic implications, so much so that it was reported in newspapers worldwide such as The New York Times: "In endeavoring to quell the disturbance the authorities resorted to the use of artillery, killing two of the rioters and wounding several, four seriously."

Ensor chose to chronicle the moments after the killing. While Ensor transformed this news into a gruesome commentary on the moral turpitude of the times, he questioned the relation between the kind of subject matter that inspired patriotism and the kind of idealized academic art sanctioned by the state.

"A masterpiece on the same order as the painting, this unique hand-colored impression of Les Gendarmes is a welcome addition to the Gettys holdings of Ensors work," says Louis Marchesano, the Getty Research Institute's curator of prints and drawings. "It's a painting, drawing and print all in one, providing insight into three aspects of Ensor's art that don't usually appear in a single work."

Marchesano adds, "Together, Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1888 and Les Gendarmes are not only high points from Ensor's career, they are also signposts to the future of the avantgarde, especially in Germany where young Expressionist absorbed the power of his imagery and the daring of his technique."

In 2006, Les Gendarmes along with other etchings were displayed in the Getty Museum's Ensor's Graphic Modernism, the first Los Angeles exhibition devoted to the artist. Marchesano co-curated the presentation with Scott Schaefer, the Getty Museum's Senior Curator of Paintings. Les Gendarmes comes from the collection of Frédéric Trüssel (1873-1965), a preeminent patron and collector of Ensor's work, who knew him personally.

About James Ensor
James Ensor (Belgian, 1860-1949) trained as a painter and draftsman in the 1870s and took up etching in the 1880s. After a few years at the art academy in Brussels and after initial failure with the art establishment he and other young artists and critics established the avantgarde group known as Les Vingt (The Twenty).

His early interest in bourgeois realism gave way to his signature interest in worlds populated by skeletons, masks, and the macabre, sometimes with acerbic political messages. Despite these interests, Ensor remained a life-long admirer of old masters, especially painter-printmakers such as Rembrandt and Goya. Like many of those artists, he took up printmaking with little formal training and proved to be a remarkable craftsman who was meticulous about the papers, inks, and colors he employed to make his prints.

The full range of his printed oeuvre includes Rembrandtesque landscapes, beautiful portraits, imaginary biblical scenes (especially the tormented figure of Christ with whom Ensor identified), proto-symbolist interiors, and a handful of grotesque and politically radical pictures, including Les Gendarmes.

Note to editors: Images available upon request.

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