Bal Fantastique (The Fantastic Ball)
Etching and roulette work, 1889, Taevernier 75 (ii/II), Delteil 75, Elesh 75, Croquez 75; edition unknown. 3 1/16 x 4 5/8 in. Signed in the plate, bottom center.Signed and dated in pencil and signed and titled on the verso. This is a superb impression printed on simili-Japan paper. The margins are wide and probably full. The condition is exceptional; as fresh as the day it was printed. This entertaining print is a fine example of Ensor's interest in depicting fantastic scenes with a wide array of bizarre figures acting out in a celebratory fashion.
$6,500

Skeltons Seeking to Warm Themselves (Squelettes Voulant se Chauffer)
Etching, 1886, Taevernier 98 (ii/II), Croquez 98, Delteil 98; edition unknown. 5 1/2 x 4 in. Signed and dated in the plate, lower right. Signed dated and titled in pencil. (The verso is also countersigned in pencil across the sheet and titled in pencil along the bottom edge.) This is a superb, luminous impression on Japan paper, printed with plate tone. The margins appear to be full and uncut. (There are two small, previous hinges on the right edge, verso, not affecting the front.) This exemplary and memorable print relates closely to to oil painting now in the Kimbell Art Museum on Forth Worth Texas. It's considered on of his masterpieces. "Understood as a scene in an artist's studio, "Skeletons Trying to Warm Themselves" resembles a vignette from the popular medieval and early Renaissance print cycles of the Dance of Death..." (See the description of the painting found on the website of the Kimbell.)
SOLD

The Deadly Sins, Dominated by Death (Les Péchés Capitaux, Dominés par la Mort)
Etching, 1904, Taevernier 126, Elesh 126, only state; edition unknown. 5 1/2 x 3 5/8 in. Signed in the plate, lower right. Signed, dated and titled in pencil. The print is also counter signed on the verso by the artist. This is a very fine impression printed on simili-Japan paper. The sheet is exceptionally large measuring 19 5/8 x 12 5/8 in. The condition is fine apart from an exceedingly faint suggestion of toning within an earlier mat opening. This work was the introductory image for the portfolio called "The Deadly Sins" which consisted of eight etchings by Ensor and a preface by Eugène Demolder. Demolder describes it in the following terms, "The frontispiece brings the seven deadly sins together under a symbolic death's head with black-feathered wings." (Unidentified collector's mark, verso.)
SOLD

The Orchard (Le Verger)
Etching, 1886, Taevernier 2 (iii/III), Croquez 2, Delteil 2; edition unknown. 9 1/4 x 6 1/2 in. Signed and dated in the plate, lower right. Signed and dated (1888) in pencil. This is a fine impression printed on Japan paper with plate tone. The margins are probably full. The condition is very good apart from toning along the extreme right edge of the sheet and traces of an old adhesive at the upper left and right corners from early hinges. There's an unidentified collector's mark on the verso. This is a proof impression before publication in the 1901 album of the Royal Society of Belgian Etchers. This engaging landscape is Ensor's second recorded etching.
$3,000

The Scavenger (Le Vidangeur)
Etching, 1896, Taevernier 106, Croquez 105; only state. 4 3/16 x 3 1/8 in. Signed in the plate, lower right. Signed and dated in pencil. Countersigned on the verso and titled in pencil. This is a fine impression printed with light plate tone on a cream simili Japon paper. The condition is fine apart from three minor scuff marks in the margins, well away from the image. The margins are probably full measuring about 3 inches on all sides. This engaging little print reminds us of Rembrandt's many studies of beggars.
SOLD

View of the Ostend Harbour (Gezicht op de Haven van Oostende)
Etching, 1888, Taevernier 39 (i/II), Croquez 39 (i/II); edition unknown. 3 1/16 x 4 5/8 in. Signed in the plate, lower right. Signed, dated and titled in pencil. The print is also countersigned in pencil. This is a fine impression of this uncommon early work. The margins are wide and probably full. The condition is excellent. The paper is a cream colored, sturdy wove. In the second state the date of 1888 was added above the etched signature. According to Taevernier, "We presume that this state is late made at the request of a collector, a friend of the elderly artist."
$2,000