1875 >>

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In the early days of his career, the young James Ensor mainly sought inspiration from the realistic painting of Gustave Courbet. He set up his easel outdoors or in the family home and painted his surroundings.

Personal life
Ensor started painting at a very early age. He goes to the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwecollege in Ostend and gets his first lessons in painting from two Ostend painters (Van Cuyck and Dubar). At the age of 15 he starts painting himself: "When I was about 13 years old, I got the taste of painting, so I was initiated by two old Ostend painters, pickled, oiled people, schoolmaster-like, into the banality of their monotonous, boring and stillborn profession. But when I was 15 I painted Ostend faces after nature."

Ostend
Within the framework of a reorganisation of the land defence system, Antwerp was chosen as the national reduit in 1865. Ostend loses its fortification function. Between 1865 and 1875, the fortifications were demolished and the architectural and urban development of Ostend began under the impetus of King Leopold II. First of all (period 1865-1867), work was done on the north side. The three courtines (weather walls between bastions) had to disappear as soon as possible to make room for three passages over the moat. These passages were situated in the extension of the Kapucijnen-, the Louisa- and the Christina-street and connected the city with the sea dyke. Only one year later, the moat was filled in and the bridges were no longer needed. In December 1868, the moat was filled in and the bridges between the ramparts and the dike were demolished. In the spring of 1869, various ramps were built to reach the dyke from the city: both in the extension of Vlaanderenstraat and at the end of Kapucijnen-, Louisa- and Christinastraat. In 1874, an agreement was reached between the State and the notary L. Delbouille from Liège who bought and parcelled out an area of land that had been freed up from the demolished northern fortifications. Together with the architect A. Dujardin (Liège), he promotes this as the ideal neighbourhood for the establishment of commercial establishments and residential houses due to the proximity of the city centre and the seawall. Part of the land is bought by the government. From 1877 onwards, the wooden pavilions of the seawall and the first Kursaal were demolished to straighten the eastern dike and lay down the building lines for the planned new buildings. Because of this, some pavilions had to disappear: the "Cercle du Phare" (demolished in 1878), the "Pavillon du Phare" and the old (first) Kursaal on the seawall.

The development of Ostend as a tourist, commercial and industrial city profoundly changed the appearance of the city.