In the course of the twentieth century, under the influence of the increasing success of Modernism, a misleading image of James Ensor emerged. One might even say that Ensor was confined within a modernist 'straitjacket'. In order to understand the artist's motivations, this book follows the advice given to the art critic Andre De Ridder by Ensor himself in 1930: 'I recommend you re-read Les Ecrits de James Ensor, where I explain my research and defend...