Girl with Masks (Communion), 1921

About the Work

This painting by the Belgian artist James Ensor has no storyline and leaves many questions unanswered. What is on the girl’s mind? Is she holding a torn flower wreath in her hands? The alternative title, ‘Communion’ – which was probably not chosen by Ensor himself – leads us to assume that the scene shows the girl at her first communion. Yet the festive mood of the Christian celebration is contradicted by her rigid gaze and the grotesque masks. Her mouth is open in a silent scream.