The title of this print reveals not only Ensor’s self-mockery, but also his latent derision when it comes to the development of modern -isms.

Besides his artistic journey, James Ensor dreamed all his life of a career in music. Experimenting on his own harmonium, he composed a ballet, which was first performed in 1924.

La gamme d’amour is a nod to the painting of the same name by Antoine Watteau, the 18th-century painter who strongly influenced Ensor’s painting.

The costumes for the opera are designed by Ensor himself. They seem to be contemporary interpretations. As if these figures escaped from Watteau’s ‘fêtes galantes’.

James Ensor, ‘Le luminisme, le cubisme et la gravure’, litho, 32,5 x 25 cm. From: James Ensor, La gamme d’amour. Brussels: Un Coup de dés …, 1929. Inv.nr 3714, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp – Collection Flemish Community (public domain)