James Ensor becomes more cynical and misanthropic…

James Ensor becomes more cynical and misanthropic as criticism of the Belgian painter and printmaker's work becomes more abusive, a state of mind given frightening expression in his Portrait of the Artist Surrounded by Masks (1899; Menard Art Museum, Belgium).

He finally becomes a recluse and is seen in public so seldom that he is rumored to be dead, despite the fact that he is only thirty-eight in 1898.