The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 25, 2024
The Garden of the Rousseau Family
1885
(Belgian, 1860–1949)
Framed: 96.2 x 82.6 x 9.3 cm (37 7/8 x 32 1/2 x 3 11/16 in.); Unframed: 75.5 x 61 cm (29 3/4 x 24 in.)
Gift of Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. 1950.582
Location: 223 20th Century Avant-Garde
Did You Know?
James Ensor painted in a wide variety of styles and techniques, his subjects varying from realistic landscapes like this one to fantastical imagined scenes from literature and theater. The sea in his hometown of Ostend, Belgium, was also a favorite subject.Description
This painting depicts the garden of the artist’s close friends Ernest and Mariette Rousseau, with whom he often stayed at their home in Brussels, Belgium. He rendered this view of their garden in a technique of bold color applied with strong, broken brushstrokes. It is not known whether Ensor painted this work from life or memory, but the garden, empty of people, hints at feelings of social alienation, a dominant theme in his work.- 1885-1890James Ensor, sold to Ernst and/or Mariette Rousseau at the salon of Les XX (no. 11)1890-at least 1908Ernest [1831-1908] and/or Mariette [1850-1926] Rousseau, BrusselsHenry van de Velde [1863-1957], Wassenaar, the Netherlands1930(Galerie Giroux, Brussels, sale, February 10, 1930, lot 41)After 1930-1946(Sam Salz, New York, sold to Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.)1946-1950Leonard C. Hanna Jr., Cleveland, OH, by gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art1950-The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OhioProvenance Footnotes1 This painting depicts the garden of Ernest and Mariette Rousseau at their second home in Watermael-Bosvoorde, outside of Brussels. Friends of Ensor, the Rousseau appear in many of the artist’s works. The painting was first published in 1908, when Emile Verhaeren listed it as belonging to Ernest Rousseau, but it may very well have been painted for Mariette, a biologist whose father was a botanist.2 Henry van de Velde was a painter, architect, and part of the artists’ group Les XX, of which Ensor was a founding member. Van de Velde participated in a number of exhibitions with Ensor.3 Both the consignor and the buyer of the painting at this sale are unknown, although the former may be van de Velde.
- Verhaeren, Emile. James Ensor. Bruxelles: G. Van Oest & cie, 1908.Galerie Georges Giroux, and J.-F Elsander. Bulletin Et Catalogue Des Expositions James Ensor, 7. Au 18. Jan. 1920. Bruxelles. Reproduced: no. 20Le Roy, Grégoire. James Ensor. Bruxelles, Belgium : G. van Oest, 1922. Reproduced: p. 112Haesaerts, Luc, and Paul Haesaerts. Flandre; essai sur l'art flamand depuis 1880. Paris, France: Éditions des Chroniques du jour, G. di San Lazzaro, éditeur, 1931. Reproduced: p. 662Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries (New York, N.Y.). Modern Belgian Art in Private American Collections: [Exhibit] at the Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries, from May 13th to May 26th, 1950. New York, NY: [publisher not identified], 1950. Reproduced: no.11Cleveland Museum of Art, “Recent Acquisition Press Release,” July, 1951, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.orgTricot, Xavier. James Ensor: Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings. Antwerp, Belgium: Pandora Ortelius, 1992.Tricot, Xavier. James Ensor: Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings. London: P. Wilson, 1992.Ollinger-Zinque, Gisèle. Ensor: Musées Royaux Des Beaux-Arts De Belgique, Brussels, Belgium. Wommelgem: Blondé Artprinting International, 1999. Reproduced: p. 134, no. 71Argencourt, Louise d', and Roger Diederen. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 4. European Paintings of the 19th Century. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 256-258, Vol. I, no. 93Tricot, Xavier. James Ensor. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz, 2009.Willsdon, Clare A. P. Impressionist Gardens. Edinburgh, Scotland: National Galleries of Scotland, 2010. Mentioned: p. 100-101; Reproduced: p. 163, fig. 66p.Willsdon, Clare A. P. Jardines impresionistas. Madrid, Spain: Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, 2010. Reproduced: p. 162Ensor, James. James Ensor. Lyon: Fage Editions, 2023. Reproduced: p. 17
- Stories From Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 6, 2015-January 5, 2016).Impressionist Gardens. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh (July 31-October 17, 2010); Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain (November 23, 2010-February 27, 2011).James Ensor Retrospective. Musée d'Art Moderne, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels, Belgium (September 24, 1999-February 13, 2000).Ways of Painting Landscapes. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 13-May 6, 1953).Modern Belgian Art in Private American Collections. Van Diemen-Lillienfield Galleries, New York, NY (1950).
- {{cite web|title=The Garden of the Rousseau Family|url=false|author=James Ensor|year=1885|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
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