Caesar’s Denarius 1921

James Ensor made "Caesar's Denarius" using colored pencil, and it feels like he's thinking out loud on paper. The marks are tentative, almost searching, which makes you feel like you're witnessing the art come into being. Look at how the colors are scumbled and layered; the figures emerge through a kind of cross-hatching, with each pencil stroke building form and volume. Notice the sun near the top of the image. It’s so simple, almost childlike, but it radiates a real presence, an uncanny and unsettling joy. Ensor's drawing style is kind of reminiscent of Otto Dix. Both artists used line and color to depict the world with a kind of manic energy. But where Dix is all hard edges and sharp angles, Ensor is more whimsical. Both artists seem to say that the joke's on us, but maybe, just maybe, Ensor sees some beauty in the mess.