James Ensor, Bathing Hat on the Beach, 1876

by Atelier Liesjes

On an empty beach stands a bathing hut on four wheels: a small wooden structure painted white with a gently sloping roof made of planks, a small door on the right-hand side and, on the left, a small window with a dark red shutter. The number 164 is painted in dark paint on the side wall. Two large, spoked wheels support the front, and two smaller ones the rear. The hut stands alone on the sand, and its long, grey shadow falls to the right across the plain. On the horizon, the beach stretches empty to the edge of the canvas. Behind the beach lies a broad strip of steel-blue sea, with a faint horizon and, on the right, a subtle hint of land or ships. Above it, clouds pile up in shades of grey, cream and pearl grey, until the canvas is almost completely filled. This is an early work, painted long before Ensor would create his masks and skeletons. The style is still that of realism: an ordinary, unadorned reality, viewed without narrative and without human figures. The colours are limited to grey, blue-green, cream and beige, and the paint is applied thinly and matt, with visible brushstrokes in the sky. It is precisely this emptiness that makes the picture special: the bathing hut stands waiting for bathers who never arrive, and the beach lies deserted. Only the wheels, the little door and the number on the wall lend the hut something almost human.
James Ensor (Ostend 1860 – Ostend 1949) grew up in Ostend, where his family ran a souvenir shop, and studied at the Brussels Academy. His early work consists mainly of seascapes, interiors and still lifes in a sober, naturalistic palette. Later, he became known as the painter of masks, bones and colourful fantasies. His early coastal work is classified as part of Belgian Realism. A tranquil, rare beach scene set against a coastal interior.