Parody And Metaphor—A Study Of James Ensor’s Paintings

James Ensor was a remarkable Expressionist painter of the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries,whose artistic achievements influenced Expressionism,Symbolism,and Surrealism to varying degrees.This paper compares and studies the artistic style and artistic characteristics of Ensor’s works in various periods,including the metaphorical interpretations of picture forms and works.The article first explains the artistic characteristics of Ensor’s three periods,and the artist’s artistic style in each period has different characteristics.Secondly,it analyzes the genesis of Ensor’s works in comic form,while masks and skulls are the most important elements in other works.By reconstructing the images of masks and skulls,the paintings express disguised masks,anthropomorphic skulls,and the pictorial forms in the paintings have a strong element of playfulness.Then it discusses the artist’s use of the pictorial medium to construct a unique artistic world in his paintings,in which he expresses the hypocrisy and ugliness of the external world and adds metaphorical elements to it.The painter’s hidden expression of his personal thoughts and artistic ideas,the metaphors expressed in his works are an important artistic connotation in his works,stripping away the dark side of social reality to the viewer’s eyes.Finally,the artistic achievements and influences of Ensor are summarized,and the artist’s artistic value is affirmed while the artistic influence of Ensor is also analyzed.Ensor was a paranoid artist,and it was his paranoia that created a unique personal artistic style.Ensor’s continuous exploration and innovation in the expression of traditional Western art forms not only influenced the Expressionist painters of his time,but also subconsciously influenced the development of modern art.