After the canvas was cleaned, it became clear that Ensor's nightmarish vision of a boisterous city boulevard teeming with banners, placards and a massed, modern rabble was shaped not only by the artist's deep-seated pessimism but by his critical view of contemporary art, captured here in dazzling displays of virtuoso painting that are as variable, original and richly parodic as the painter's darkly comic brigade.

WSJ: A Macabre Kingdom of Masks | James Ensor | Christ's Entry Into Brussels in 1889 | By Mary Tompkins Lewis

The original motion called for the the prompt re-establishment of the democratically endorsed Scottish variable rate of income tax.

BBC: Decision time