Seated Woman 

Here we have a drawing of a seated woman by James Ensor, made sometime between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Observe how the woman’s posture, slumped and withdrawn, evokes a sense of profound resignation, akin to mourning figures found in ancient Roman sarcophagi or medieval depictions of the Deposition. The presence of the dog, often a symbol of fidelity, ironically underscores the woman's isolation, and the mask on the floor, a motif recurrent in Ensor’s oeuvre, perhaps signals the falseness of appearances and the alienation of modern life. These symbols engage viewers on a subconscious level, tapping into our shared cultural memory and sparking recognition of humanity’s timeless struggles with identity, authenticity, and the burden of existence. The motifs of isolation, alienation, and the deceptive nature of appearances cycle through art history, resurfacing in various forms, each time reflecting the anxieties and experiences of a new generation.