
Ensor, JamesBelgian, 1860–1949The Ice Skaters (Les Patineurs)
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “The Ice Skaters (Les Patineurs)” now? Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Washington, D.C., United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
Details
- Accession number
- 1979.58.3
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- National Gallery of Art
- Image: National Gallery of Art — © the artist or rights holder
In the life of Ensor, James
The whole life1860–1949 · Workplace
Ostend
1880s
Brief trips to France and the Netherlands
Ensor travelled very little: in the 1880s, just three brief trips to France and two to the Netherlands.
1883–1893 · Membership
Les XX
1887
Death of his father
His father, James Frederic Ensor, died — a scion of a wealthy English family who never found his footing in Belgium, mocked by small-town Ostend as a drunkard and failure, yet always supportive of his son's passion for art. Left the only man in the family, James felt a special responsibility for his younger sister Mariette (Mitche).
1888–1892
Turning-point years: the Passion of Christ
Ensor turned to religious themes, most often the torments of Christ, expressing through them his disgust at the inhumanity of the world; an atheist, he identified with Christ as a victim of mockery. At the height of his creative powers, between 1886 and 1891, he made 86 of his 133 etchings.





![Ginevra de' Benci [obverse], Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1474/1478](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/8f29e3c9-a289-4d53-abf0-31a66e9e98fa/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
![Wreath of Laurel, Palm, and Juniper with a Scroll inscribed Virtutem Forma Decorat [reverse], Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1474/1478](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/ff62e8d0-45c4-498f-ad36-6358de827e04/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)









![Woman Sitting in a Garden [verso], Pablo Picasso, 1901](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/e3303575-2911-4b5b-9f77-140cb915922d/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)



