James ENSOR (1860 - 1949) Witches in the Squall (1888) Etching on paper. Marked in red on the back. Annotated by a former collector in the marie louise: impression Adolphe von Campenhout,le cuivre n'est pas biseauté, titre, 179 x 238 mm. Size (folio): 249 x 350mm. No frame. Provenance as indicated by the collector: sale 366 4.4.4 21-II - 59 n°14 A similar work is kept in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent (Inv. 1998-B-52) Source Museum of Fine Arts Ghent The etching "Sorciers dans la bourrasque" is one of the highlights of Ensor's fantastic imagery. In a flying storm, a huge, strange witch gives birth to monstrous naked witches in quick succession. In a sense, this engraving can be seen as a sequel to the print "The Descent into Hell", in which Ensor depicted similar witches in a parade (inv. 1998-B-10).