18. The Skate
Naturally, Ensor, an Ostend local, also painted still lifes of fish. He painted the skate several times. The first example dates back to 1880. He created this powerful, rather dark work, probably side by side with his English friend Willy Finch, in the attic of his childhood home. Like Ensor, Willy Finch had English roots and his parents ran a hotel in Ostend. Both young artists painted this wondrous sea creature surrounded by straw, a herring and a basket, each from slightly different perspectives. About a decade later, Ensor again painted a skate, but this time it took on a completely different dimension. The skate that looked lifeless in the first version now has a raised head. It seems to stare at you, resembling a person slumped over. The skate can't help it: it has a humanoid face with a mouth and two eyes looking straight ahead. With its splayed belly and limp tail next to an ostentatious shell, the fish evokes erotic connotations.