O caótico, o fantástico e o bizarro: duas gravuras de James Ensor na coleção de Murilo Mendes

Abstract

This research starts from two engravings by belgian artist James Ensor (1860-1949), entitled The Singular Insects (1888) and King Pest (1895). These artworks are part of the collection of Murilo Mendes (1901- 1975) and, currently, integrate the collection of the Museum of Modern Art of the UFJF dedicated to poet. In this sense, three points are addressed: the artist, the engravings, and the poet. The main objectives of this dissertation are to better understand the figure of James Ensor, to study the two images of the artist and the rich universe that they present, and to analyze the relationship of Murilo Mendes with these engravings. In this third point, the affinity of the poet is notorious for issues that encompass the culture of the end of the century, especially with regard to the approach of the fantastic within reality. Such characteristic is a trademark of Ensor’s artworks, which lived within this culture of the end of the nineteenth century. To understand all these questions, the comparison between images and texts was of paramount importance, in order to demonstrate the presence of these cultural elements that are, sometimes, similar in the historical context of both the artist and the poet.