LEWISTON — A collection of lithographs by Belgian artist James Ensor, recognized for elevating caricature and social critique to a high art form, will be exhibited at Bates College’s Museum of Art.

“James Ensor: Scenes de la vie du Christ,” featuring 32 small but striking works, will open Monday, Jan. 23. It will be on view through March 18, along with a companion show by prominent Chinese artist Xiaoze Xie (who will give a free lecture at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, at Olin Arts Center).

Ensor started as a realist, but by the 1880s his subjects became increasingly fantastical and his palette intensely colorful. In the late 19th century, he was associated with the artistic avant-garde in Belgium, notably an anti-establishment group of artists called “Les XX” (The 20).

His well-known painting “The Entry of Christ into Brussels,” depicting the Messiah surrounded by a grotesque mob that includes politicians and members of Ensor’s family, is considered an important precursor to Expressionism.

Though an atheist, Ensor saw Christ as a useful allegory and, increasingly from the late 1880s, used religious themes to convey his distaste for the direction he saw humanity taking.

Finished in 1921, “Scenes de la vie du Christ” (Scenes from the Life of Christ), is a portfolio of lithographs executed from colored-pencil drawings made between 1911 and 1920. Perhaps considered his most encompassing graphic project, the portfolio epitomizes Ensor’s adaptation of the late-medieval combination of religious themes and carnival humor.

Like many works in his oeuvre, “Scenes de la vie du Christ” contrasts beauty with monstrous figures, and delicate rendering with bold and bizarre passages.

The exhibition also features several etchings by the artist, including “La mort poursuivant le troupeau des humains” (Death Pursuing a Flock of Mortals), done in 1896; and “La cathedrale” (The Cathedral), done in 1886.

The museum is in Olin Arts Center, 75 Russell St. It is open at no cost from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday; and until 7 p.m. Wednesday during the academic year. For more information, email [email protected] or call 786-6158.