The Garden of the Rousseau Family
1885
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1885
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
You’re looking at a quiet garden—trees, a fence, a few chairs, no people. Ensor painted this spot often. It belonged to friends who let him stay in their Brussels home. The thick, choppy brushstrokes make the leaves feel alive, even though the scene is empty. That emptiness might be why he liked it; he often felt alone in crowds. To see how other artists turned everyday places into moods, look up impasto.
