Spar – Huisje uit Neurenberg – Racket 1929

James Ensor made this crayon drawing of three masked figures with a light palette of reds, yellows, and greens. It's wispy and unfinished quality allows the whiteness of the paper to shine. I wonder what it was like for Ensor to build these images. How does he come up with these characters? Are they from his dreams, or are they studies for figures he planned to include in a larger painting? The central figure, for instance, is like a fantastical doll with a latticed crown and a dress made of what look like little houses. To her right, a more simply drawn figure has a large, rotund form, and to her left, a grinning figure wears a hat of sprigs. I imagine Ensor was making decisions about how each line would animate these characters as they came into being. The scribbly crayon marks convey so much movement and energy. Painters are always in conversation with each other, across time, inspiring each other’s imaginations, which can be like play—messy, uncertain, and joyful.