Streaming water 1913

James Ensor made this, “Streaming Water,” using printmaking, and you can really feel that medium here in the way the lines are so, so delicate, almost like whispers on paper. Looking at it, I'm struck by how the texture and colour, while muted, create this dreamlike state. It's not about defining every detail but hinting at forms, suggesting a flow of figures and water. Ensor’s approach to mark-making feels so crucial here; it's as if each scratch and smudge adds to the overall ambiguity, inviting you to fill in the gaps. Check out how the figure sort of dissolves into the scene, and consider how that effect might relate to Ensor’s broader interest in masks and hidden identities. The whole thing just vibrates with a sense of process and openness. It reminds me a little of Redon, that same sense of Symbolist mystery, where art embraces ambiguity over definition.