The Garden of the Rousseau Family

About the Artwork

This painting depicts the garden of the artist’s close friends Ernest and Mariette Rousseau, with whom he often stayed at their home in Brussels, Belgium. He rendered this view of their garden in a technique of bold color applied with strong, broken brushstrokes. It is not known whether Ensor painted this work from life or memory, but the garden, empty of people, hints at feelings of social alienation, a dominant theme in his work.

Inscriptions

Signed in blue lower left: ensor

Provenance

1885-1890: James Ensor, sold to Ernst and/or Mariette Rousseau at the salon of Les XX (no. 11) 1890-at least 1908: Ernest [1831-1908] and/or Mariette [1850-1926] Rousseau, Brussels Henry van de Velde [1863-1957], Wassenaar, the Netherlands 1930: (Galerie Giroux, Brussels, sale, February 10, 1930, lot 41) After 1930-1946: (Sam Salz, New York, sold to Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.) 1946-1950: Leonard C. Hanna Jr., Cleveland, OH, by gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1950-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio

Exhibition history

Ways of Painting Landscapes. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 13-May 6, 1953). James Ensor Retrospective. Musée d'Art Moderne, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels, Belgium (September 24, 1999-February 13, 2000). Impressionist Gardens. National Galleries of Scotland (July 31-October 17, 2010); Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain (November 23, 2010-February 27, 2011). Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 6, 2015-January 5, 2016). Stories from Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).

Quick Overview

Artist: James Ensor (Belgian, 1860–1949)
Date: 1885
Medium: oil on fabric
Dimensions: Framed: 96.2 x 82.6 x 9.3 cm (37 7/8 x 32 1/2 x 3 11/16 in.); Unframed: 75.5 x 61 cm (29 3/4 x 24 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture
Credit line: Gift of Leonard C. Hanna Jr.
Accession no.: 1950.582

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.