Hidden figure studies in James Ensor’s Old Man with Beard and 19th-century academic studio practice

The reuse of painting supports is a well-documented practice in art history, often driven by a combination of economic, practical, or artistic considerations. This study examines Figure Study: Old Man with Beard (1878-79, Mu.ZEE, inv. no. SM000216, T110) by James Ensor (1860-1949), which proves to be an exceptional case of canvas reuse during the artist’s academic period. Three superimposed academic figure studies and a sketch on the reverse of the canvas were detected and reconstructed using a combination of traditional imaging techniques and macro X-ray fluorescence (MA-XRF) scanning while SEM-EDX analysis gave insights into the paint layer build-up. The results demonstrate Ensor repeatedly rotated the canvas to overpainted underlying compositions and used blocking-out layers. By integrating material-technical analysis with technical art history, this paper explores the artistic, pedagogical, and economic motivations behind canvas reuse in Ensor’s early work, situating these practices within 19th-century academic training and broader modernist studio practices.