My Dead Mother IV (1915)

Dated 1915, "My Dead Mother IV" is an artwork by James Ensor. About the period around 1915: Dada and Surrealism followed the First World War, the Bauhaus school was founded in 1919, and Art Deco became the fashionable decorative style of the 1920s and 1930s. The first decades of the twentieth century were a period of rapid experiment, with Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism, and the first abstract painting appearing within a few years of each other. It is listed in the Drawings collection. The image is in landscape orientation. Drawings, a short history: Artists have long used drawings to plan paintings, sculptures, and buildings, so a sketch can show how an idea developed. Because line carries so much of the effect, drawings tend to reward close looking at the quality of the mark.

On onlly.art "My Dead Mother IV" is sold as a digital download (Digital JPEG + PDF files, 300 DPI). The files are delivered by email after payment, so nothing is shipped: you print locally, choosing the paper, size, and frame yourself. A landscape format suits wide, low wall spaces such as the stretch above a bed, mantel, or sideboard. Before printing, compare the proportions of the file with your frame so that nothing important is cropped. Hang the print away from direct sunlight, which over the years can fade any printed colour. Screens and printers render colour differently, so a small test print is a sensible way to check tones before committing to a large size. Matte and fine-art papers reduce glare in bright rooms, while glossy papers give stronger contrast and deeper blacks.

Belgian, 1860–1949

If you like the visual language of James Ensor, explore more works by the same artist in our collection.