KMSKA museum brings Ensor and Wouters together to explore colour as sensory experience
The exhibition “A Red that Sings” opens on Saturday at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA). The exhibition, which runs until the end of August, focuses on the role of colour in Belgian modernism and brings together works by the artists James Ensor, Rik Wouters and Jules Schmalzigaug.
“A Red that Sings” is based on the idea that colour can be more than just a visual element - it can also evoke a sensory, almost musical experience. Around 1900 in particular, artists experimented with powerful pigments to express emotion and movement, in contrast to the softer colour palette of Impressionism.
The exhibition opens with a work by Peter Paul Rubens and places the use of colour within a broader historical context. It also demonstrates how earlier artists experimented with expressive uses of colour that were later further developed by modernists.
The bulk of the exhibition is devoted to the modernists. According to the museum, the KMSKA possesses the largest collections of works by Ensor, Wouters and Schmalzigaug. However, this is reportedly the first time their work has been presented together so prominently. The exhibition is complemented by pieces from other artists, thereby also revealing the mutual influences and developments.
In addition to paintings and drawings, the exhibition also features musical and audiovisual elements. Through these, the KMSKA aims to make the concept of “synesthesia” – in which different senses are stimulated simultaneously – tangible for visitors.
#FlandersNewsService | 'The Intrigue' by James Ensor © PHOTO ALBUM ARCHIVO
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