Art Story

In addition to his passion for painting, James Ensor also had a soft spot for music. In 1908, he began composing, writing, and designing his ballet-pantomime La Gamme d'Amour, a story that tells of the impossible love between Miamia and Fifrelin. Just as in his paintings, the staging of the ballet features typical Ensorian themes: folk festivals, carnival, and masks all make an appearance. In addition, Ensor always gave each character an allegorical or symbolic name that indicated the character's role or traits within the story. The full-scale production premiered in 1924 in Antwerp and was performed three years later in Liège. During the Ensor Year (2024), La Gamme d'Amour and other musical works by Ensor were highlighted in the exhibition James Ensor. Maestro at BOZAR in Brussels.
The fully bound album La Gamme d'Amour was published in 1929 by the publishing house "Un Coup de dés..." in Brussels on imperial Japanese paper and is numbered from 21 to 270. PAREIT.Gallery is offering the loose-leaf lithographs from copy 72. This series of lithographs depicts the designs for the ballet's costumes and sets.