James Ensor's "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" Heads to Chicago in November

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS
By TAHLIB

"The Temptation of Saint Anthony," (1887) by James Ensor (b. Belgium) 

ILLINOIS---After eight years of conservation and restoration, James Ensor’s six foot tall drawing "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" comes to Chicago this November as part of a major exhibition at the Art Insitute of Chicago. This will be the first time the work has shown outside of Belgium. "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" theme is of an ancient saint who resists greed and lust—was time-old, but rather than simply show Anthony surrounded by the trials of centuries past, Ensor placed his saint at the mercy of modern life, surrounded by the temptations of a brutal and turbulent world. Kneeling in prayer, eyes closed tight, Ensor’s Saint Anthony closes his eyes to fast food, corruption, disease, and sexual violence. Above his head, in the rays of a rising sun, a sorrowful Christ wears a military helmet.

Art Institute of Chicago: "Temptation: The Demons of James Ensor" (November 23, 2014–January 25, 2015); 111 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois; (312) 443-3600; artic.edu