June 13, 2012–January 7, 2013
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James Ensor. The Deadly Sins Dominated by Death (Les Péchés capitaux dominés par la mort) from The Deadly Sins (Les Péchés capitaux). 1904
James Ensor (Belgian, 1860–1949). The Deadly Sins Dominated by Death (Les Péchés capitaux dominés par la mort) from The Deadly Sins (Les Péchés capitaux). 1904 (portfolio published 1904). One from a portfolio of eight etchings with colored pencil and watercolor additions, plate: 3 1/2 x 5 1/4" (8.9 x 13.3 cm); sheet: 6 5/16 x 9 3/4" (16 x 24.7 cm). Publisher: the artist, Ostend, Belgium. Printer: possibly Jean Baptiste Van Campenhout, Brussels. Edition: approx. 50–100 (approx. 20 with hand coloring). Riva Castleman Endowment Fund and The Print Associates Fund, 2011. © 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SABAM, Brussels
In this satirical series, Ensor updated a traditional theme of Christian morality. In the first sheet, Death, in the form of a winged skeleton, embraces seven figures that personify the seven deadly sins. In each of the subsequent sheets, the artist depicted his contemporaries engaged in each vice: gluttony, sloth, pride, anger, avarice, envy, and lust. A small skeleton or devil mocks the obscene, feckless behavior of the central characters. This set of prints is particularly rare; it is in pristine condition and its colors are fresh because it was preserved in the original collector’s album.