James Ensor. Cathedral. 1886. Etching, plate: 9 3/4 x 7 1/2" (24.8 x 19 cm); sheet: 18 11/16 x 14 1/16" (47.4 x 35.7 cm). Publisher: The artist. Printer: Léon Evely, Brussels. unknown. Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (by exchange). © 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SABAM, Brussels
Ensor's bizarre visions were fueled, from early childhood, by the attic above his family's souvenir shop. He described it as "dark and frightening . . . full of horrible spiders, curios, seashells, plants and animals from distant seas, beautiful chinaware, rust and blood-colored effects, red and white coral, monkeys, turtles, dried mermaids."