Description
This painting depicts the garden of the artist’s close friends Ernest and Mariette Rousseau, with whom he often stayed at their home in Brussels, Belgium. He rendered this view of their garden in a technique of bold color applied with strong, broken brushstrokes. It is not known whether Ensor painted this work from life or memory, but the garden, empty of people, hints at feelings of social alienation, a dominant theme in his work.
Provenance
James Ensor, sold to Ernst and/or Mariette Rousseau at the salon of Les XX (no. 11) (1885-1890); Ernest [1831-1908] and/or Mariette [1850-1926] Rousseau, Brussels (1890-at least 1908); Henry van de Velde [1863-1957], Wassenaar, the Netherlands; (Galerie Giroux, Brussels, sale, February 10, 1930, lot 41) (1930); (Sam Salz, New York, sold to Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.) (After 1930-1946); Leonard C. Hanna Jr., Cleveland, OH, by gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art (1946-1950); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio (1950-)
Accession Number
1950.582
Medium
oil on fabric
Dimensions
Framed: 96.2 x 82.6 x 9.3 cm (37 7/8 x 32 1/2 x 3 11/16 in.); Unframed: 75.5 x 61 cm (29 3/4 x 24 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Gift of Leonard C. Hanna Jr.
