The Cuirassiers at Waterloo 1891

Curator: Today, we are looking at James Ensor’s "The Cuirassiers at Waterloo," created in 1891 using pencil and coloured pencil. It depicts the famous battle, but with a distinctly Ensor-esque spin. Editor: My first thought? Controlled chaos! The swirling clouds mirror the turmoil on the battlefield below. I love how he captures the drama of such a historic event in a relatively small format. Curator: Precisely! Waterloo as a historical subject was deeply ingrained in 19th-century European consciousness, signifying both the end of the Napoleonic era and the establishment of a new political order. Ensor, however, wasn’t simply illustrating history. Editor: No, he's got his own take! The layering of coloured pencils creates a strange vibrancy; almost like a fever dream. It avoids any sense of romanticism and pushes you toward an overwhelming sensory overload, an incredible departure from typical war imagery. Curator: It’s essential to note Ensor's Belgian context, however, the Battle of Waterloo took place in present day Belgium and had profound political consequences. Therefore Ensor re-imagines national identity through images of battles and national myth. Editor: It almost feels personal, doesn't it? Like a childhood memory being furiously scribbled onto paper. I feel dizzy and maybe it reflects a more personal understanding of war and its consequences. Curator: I concur; Ensor used public history to express something deeply internal, creating work that's unnerving in its seeming lack of heroic center. There are bodies everywhere, it isn’t exactly a victory monument. Editor: Definitely. It feels so alive, it throbs! And a bit unsettling. Ensor takes a monumental historical event and renders it intimate, immediate. It doesn’t let you forget what a true human cost it came at. Curator: An incisive thought with which to end, and an enduring reflection on national historical art, reimagined. Editor: Right. And maybe even to give some credit to chaos, because from it, sometimes something beautiful is born!