While Ensor's early works, such as Russian Music (1881) and The Drunkards (1883), depict realistic scenes in a somber style, his palette subsequently brightened and he favored increasingly bizarre subject matter. Such paintings as The Scandalized Masks (1883) and Skeletons Fighting over a Hanged Man (1891) feature figures in grotesque masks inspired by the ones sold in his mother's gift shop for Ostend's annual Carnival.
Early works by Ensor, such as "Russian Music" (1881) and "The Drunkards" (1883), depict realistic scenes with a somber tone, but later he shifted to brighter palettes and more bizarre subjects. Paintings like "The Scandalized Masks" (1883) and "Skeletons Fighting over a Hanged Man" (1891) feature figures wearing grotesque masks inspired by those sold in his mother's gift shop for Ostend's annual Carnival.