Background
Leon Spilliaert was born on July 28, 1881 in Ostend, Belgium. He was the son of Léonard-Hubert Spilliaert, a perfumer, and Léonie (Jonckheere) Spilliaert.
Leon Spilliaert was born on July 28, 1881 in Ostend, Belgium. He was the son of Léonard-Hubert Spilliaert, a perfumer, and Léonie (Jonckheere) Spilliaert.
In 1899, Leon enrolled in the Academy of Arts in Bruges, which he attended during a few months. Spilliaert decided, that no formal art education would match his needs, so he decided to become a self-taught artist.
During the period from February 1903 to January 1904, Leon worked for Edmond Deman, the publisher, who was associated particularly with Emile Verhaeren, who encouraged him.
In 1904, Spilliaert stayed in Paris, where he was on the fringe of Picasso’s circle and discovered the work of Munch and Toulouse-Lautrec, whose influences he acknowledged.
Spilliaert explored the possibilities of the self-portrait with great intensity in the years 1907–1908, a decisive period which saw him produce some very important work. In the same period, the theme of the mirror became a recurring element in his self-portraits. Spilliaert’s relationship with this image-creating object, like the artist, constantly wavered between seduction and repulsion.
Since 1912, Leon executed large-scale pastels of various harbour scenes, with large schematized figures that influenced Constant Permeke. He moved in literary and cultural circles and was a friend of the Belgian playwright Fernand Crommelynck, as well as of Stefan Zweig who had followed his career from its beginnings.
The painter's first personal exhibition took place in 1922 in Brussels. Some time later, in 1929, Leon's another large solo exhibition was held at Galerie Georges Giroux in Brussels.
Young Man with Red Scarf
Young Woman and Dog
Self-Portrait
A Forest
Moonlight and Light
Vertigo
Self-Portrait
Hibou
The Posts
La Baigneuse
Self-Portrait
Les trois figures
Girls on a Dune
Self-Portrait in Mirror
L'élévation
Dog in the Snow
The Crossing
Self-Portrait
Femme nue tenant une coupe
The Open Door
Femme en Pied
The Absinthe Drinker
Sailing Vessel at Sea
De Witte Hoeve
Digue la nuit
Leon married Raquel Ferguson on December 23, 1916. The following year, in March the couplу moved to Brussels. Their daughter, Madeleine, was born on November 15, 1917.
