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Lot Essay
Born in 1881 in Ostend, on the coast of the North Sea, Léon Spilliaert developed an interest in art at an early age. As a young man, Spilliaert was prone to anxiety and stomach ulcers, which resulted in periods of insomnia. During these bouts, he would wander the streets and quays of the coastal town, painting inky sketches of streetlights reflected in the water. From these early sketches to the creation of his first dated work in 1899 until his death in 1946, Léon Spilliaert dedicated his life to his art.
Though born into a family of means, Spilliaert eschewed formal artistic training, having only spent a few months at the Tekenacademie in Bruges in 1899. Shortly thereafter, at the age of 21, Spilliaert moved to Brussels and began working for the editor Edmond Deman as an assistant. Deman was the primary publisher of works by Symbolist writers and poets in France and Belgium and employed artists to provide illustrations. Through working for Deman, Spilliaert found himself immersed in the Symbolist movement and the philosophy they espoused. Deman introduced the young artist to the works of James Ensor, Fernand Khnopff, Odilon Redon, Félicien Rops, and Théo Van Rysselberghe, and poets such as Camille Lemonnier, Maurice Maeterlinck and Emile Verhaeren. Through these associations, Spilliaert began to explore the creative possibilities between literature and art, producing hundreds of illustrations for Damen to publish.
In the first decade of the 20th Century, Spilliaert synthesized his own form of Symbolism, infused with Expressionism, although the symbols are all his own and the imagery more direct. Spilliaert’s works, often rendered in watercolor, pencil, pastel, and/or ink, are bold compositions of flat areas of color that hint of abstraction, sometimes with bright colors but more often in monochrome black ink washes. The other-worldly, psychological visions he creates are often unsettling, leading the viewer into a dreamscape, though this could not be further from his vision. In his own words, Spilliaert described his process: ‘Before I put down a colour, a figure, animal, or object I think about it, I reason with myself. My imagination does not help me create paintings; in the end it plays a very minor part. To create a work, I absolutely have to have seen the setting, that I will then transpose in my own way, that I will transform and even deform.’ (per Henri Storck, in A. Adriaens-Pannier and N. Hostyn, Spilliaert, Ludion, 1996, p. 45).
We are grateful to Dr. Anne Adriaens-Pannier for confirming this authenticity of this work, which will be included in her forthcoming Léon Spilliaert catalogue raisonné now in preparation.
Though born into a family of means, Spilliaert eschewed formal artistic training, having only spent a few months at the Tekenacademie in Bruges in 1899. Shortly thereafter, at the age of 21, Spilliaert moved to Brussels and began working for the editor Edmond Deman as an assistant. Deman was the primary publisher of works by Symbolist writers and poets in France and Belgium and employed artists to provide illustrations. Through working for Deman, Spilliaert found himself immersed in the Symbolist movement and the philosophy they espoused. Deman introduced the young artist to the works of James Ensor, Fernand Khnopff, Odilon Redon, Félicien Rops, and Théo Van Rysselberghe, and poets such as Camille Lemonnier, Maurice Maeterlinck and Emile Verhaeren. Through these associations, Spilliaert began to explore the creative possibilities between literature and art, producing hundreds of illustrations for Damen to publish.
In the first decade of the 20th Century, Spilliaert synthesized his own form of Symbolism, infused with Expressionism, although the symbols are all his own and the imagery more direct. Spilliaert’s works, often rendered in watercolor, pencil, pastel, and/or ink, are bold compositions of flat areas of color that hint of abstraction, sometimes with bright colors but more often in monochrome black ink washes. The other-worldly, psychological visions he creates are often unsettling, leading the viewer into a dreamscape, though this could not be further from his vision. In his own words, Spilliaert described his process: ‘Before I put down a colour, a figure, animal, or object I think about it, I reason with myself. My imagination does not help me create paintings; in the end it plays a very minor part. To create a work, I absolutely have to have seen the setting, that I will then transpose in my own way, that I will transform and even deform.’ (per Henri Storck, in A. Adriaens-Pannier and N. Hostyn, Spilliaert, Ludion, 1996, p. 45).
We are grateful to Dr. Anne Adriaens-Pannier for confirming this authenticity of this work, which will be included in her forthcoming Léon Spilliaert catalogue raisonné now in preparation.