Shop / The Intrigue

Exhibition poster

The Intrigue

James Ensor

1890 · Oil on canvas · Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp

Size2:3 ratio

Will it fit? See it to scale above your sofa, bed or mantel

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order, arriving in 4–9 business days with production included. Express ($14.90) at checkout arrives in 4–6 business days.

Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

The Intrigue

Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889

The Garden of the Rousseau Family

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

Choose different prints →

Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

Free shipping worldwide · arrives in 4–9 business days

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

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About this work

Artist: James Ensor (1860–1949)
Year: 1890
Medium: Oil on canvas
Original size: 90 × 150 cm
Collection: Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA)
Movement: Expressionism

Masked figures crowd against a grey, cloudy sky: at the centre a man in a top hat sinks into his coat while a woman in a flowered hat holds on to him, surrounded by grinning women and a figure clutching a doll. Greens, mustard yellow and red are laid on in quick, thick strokes. Ensor painted it in 1890, one of the masquerades that run through his work from 1888, and often staged such scenes with real masks and costumes. Whether the man is a philanderer, a cuckold or a bridegroom is left open. The canvas is in the KMSKA in Antwerp.

This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

Mustard, green and red masks against a grey sky make a lively, slightly sinister picture for a hallway, dining room or study. Pair it with Toulouse-Lautrec's At the Moulin Rouge, another gallery of painted faces, at 16×24 in a black frame.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Exhibition poster of a Expressionism painting
Era: 19th century (1890)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: cream & beige
Mood: classic
Rooms: dining room, hallway or entryway, study or library, living room, dorm room
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.

Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or dark wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.

Is The Intrigue in the public domain?

Yes. James Ensor (1860–1949) died more than 70 years ago and the work was made and first published more than 95 years ago, so the painting itself is public domain in the US and Europe. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA).

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or dark wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was The Intrigue painted, and in what medium?

The Intrigue dates from 1890 and was made in oil on canvas; the original measures 90 × 150 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For The Intrigue we'd choose 16×24.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of James Ensor's The Intrigue, 1890, shown whole and uncropped beneath gallery typography. Masks and The Modern Carnival, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or dark wood. Part of the Madten Exhibition Posters Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

Secure checkout. Payments handled by Stripe; we never see or store your card.

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