His use of loose, feathery brushstrokes and the juxtaposition of colored areas on the canvas to suggest volume and the emphasis on differentiating light in order to suggest depth, typify the contemporary portraiture work of the Impressionists who were already painting in Belgium and Holland from the 1870s. Portrait of the Painter in a Flowered Hat represents Ensor in a three-quarter view, openly confronting the viewer's gaze. There's no question that the artist's continual feeling of rejection was responsible for his frenzied critiques, but the end result was simply further alienation.ġ883 Portrait of the Painter in a Flowered Hat While it could be noted in the inclusion of a jesting element within an image it could also be a full-blast attack on a subject as sacred as the Entrance of Christ into Jerusalem. Ensor's social commentary, at first subtle, eventually took on a furiously cynical tone.His exploration of society unmasked eventually caused his rejection by many, even the local avant-garde artists.

In this way he was able to dig beneath the surface and reveal the 'true face' of society. He masked his figures, giving them faces that would express their inner selves rather than their outer, anatomical ones.

The artist was particularly intrigued by the carnival theme and found it an excellent means by which to capture society's foibles.

Crowded to the point of bursting, denied room to breathe, the figures in Ensor's works impress with their presence. The effect was imagery that no longer receded but instead, threatened to enter the viewer's space. Abandoning the usage of illusionism and one-point perspective to organize the image depicted, he began to build volume with patches of color across the surface of the canvas. Ensor developed a revolutionary method of painting better suited to his personal agenda.

Enso painting