Jesus in a Crowd (after Ensor)
1991
Originally from Seattle, artist Jeffry Mitchell adopts humor and craft techniques to playfully probe at deeper truths. Here, Mitchell tackles issues of artistic and devotional lineage with the wry irony of a prankster, reimagining James Ensor’s late 19th-century painting Christ’s Entry into Brussels. In Mitchell’s interpretation, the chaotic crowds welcoming Christ are replaced by a sea of plaster clowns—alternately smiling, grimacing, or seemingly melting like pools of whipped cream—while Jesus himself appears as an oversized puppet-like knit doll. The carnivalesque scene is poignant, revulsive, and comical—a simultaneously ridiculous and sincere view of humanity.
Plaster, plywood, and papier mache with watercolor, acrylic, and latex paint
8 x 12 x 7 ft.
Each panel: 84 x 36 x 12 in.
Gift of the artist
92.136
Photo: Scott Leen
