19. Shells
The sea provided a lot more inspiration. Ensor wrote: "I spent my childhood in my parents' shop surrounded by the wonders of the sea, the beautiful mother-of-pearl shells with a thousand rainbow-coloured hues and the bizarre skeletons of sea monsters and aquatic plants."
Ensor sometimes combined shells, fish and shellfish with flowers, vegetables or fruit. He often added glassware or porcelain. He was absolutely fascinated by the many shapes, colours and motifs. His fish still lifes and his 'Coquillages', compositions featuring shells, are consistent with popular still-life sub-genres that have been around since the 17th century.
In a piece produced in 1889, he arranges shells on a cabinet, a table and colourful fabrics. A pinkish-orange background brings to mind the inclement wind at sea. He models the shells with pure colours, but the subtle details are rendered in zinc white. This semi-transparent material lends itself perfectly to the characteristic mother-of-pearl colours. The shades are simultaneously subtle yet bold, understated yet dazzling.
In two later works, he also presents the shells in a setting where other objects play a role. The human presence is palpable. A vase, a figurine, glasses, a table... However, the contours become blurred, revealing a dream world.
In some compositions, Ensor associates the suggestive shell with female nudity. He does this, for example, in The Pink Seashell, a small painting that appears to have an alternative, enigmatic title written on the back: Etude de lumière entrevue entre rue entre deux eaux. This translates as: Study of the light captured between the street and between Two Bodies of Water. The nude female statuette is a Tanagra: an ancient Greek terracotta figurine of a standing or seated figure, usually a woman, named after the town of Tanagra in central Greece. Many such votive figurines were found in ancient tombs from that city in the 1870s. Ensor had a few at home. Especially from 1917, he loved incorporating them in his work, just look at the painting Seashells, Roses and Vaseswith the red tablecloth.
In a work from 1936, the shells are piled on top of and next to each other. Only the table hints at its surroundings, but a blue strip at the back seems to suggest the sea, transforming the table into a beach. The shells play the lead role in a true symphony of colours.