Landelijke brug 1889

This is James Ensor’s etching ‘Landelijke brug’, or ‘Rural Bridge.’ Ensor was a Belgian artist who lived from 1860 to 1949. He made this print with delicate lines, showing a bridge in a rural landscape. The image reflects the interest in rural life that emerged in the late 19th century. We can see the influence of Impressionism in the artist’s attention to light and atmosphere. But where many Impressionists focused on the pleasures of the countryside, Ensor captures a certain melancholy in the scene. Belgium at this time was undergoing rapid industrialization. While some artists celebrated technological progress, others like Ensor looked back to the countryside with a sense of nostalgia, or perhaps unease about the changes taking place. As art historians, we look to sources like letters, exhibition reviews, and social histories to understand the meanings that this print might have held for Ensor and his contemporaries. Art always participates in a conversation with the social and institutional contexts of its time.