Auto-da-fe 1893

"Auto-da-fé" (1893) by Belgian symbolist artist James Ensor (1860-1949) is a powerful and unsettling depiction of a religious ritual. The central figure, a man in a richly decorated collar, faces a massive cloud of smoke, which transforms into a swirling mass of faces, some of which are grotesque and horrifying. The scene evokes the feeling of being watched and judged by an unseen force, a theme that is central to Ensor's work. Ensor's use of bold colours and expressive line work adds to the intensity and immediacy of the image, making it a compelling and disturbing critique of religious fanaticism and social hypocrisy.