Léon Spilliaert
| Léon Spilliaert | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 28, 1881 Ostend, Belgium |
| Died | November 23, 1946 (aged 65) Brussels, Belgium |
| Nationality | Belgian |
| Field | painter, graphic designer |
| Movement | Symbolism, Expressionism |
| Influenced by | Odilon Redon |
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Léon Spilliaert (28 July 1881 – 23 November 1946) was a Belgian symbolist painter and graphic artist.
Spilliaert was born in Ostend, the oldest of seven children of Léonard-Hubert Spilliaert, who was a perfumer, and Léonie (née Jonckheere).[1] From childhood, he displayed an interest in art and drawing. A prolific doodler and autodidact, he was predominantly a self-taught artist. Sickly and reclusive, he spent most of his youth sketching scenes of ordinary life and the Belgian countryside. When he was 21, he went to work in Brussels for Edmond Deman, a publisher of the works of symbolist writers, which Spilliaert was to illustrate. He especially admired the work of Edgar Allan Poe.
Watercolor, gouache, pastel, and charcoal—often in combination—were the means by which he produced many of his best works, among which are a number of monochrome self-portraits executed in the early years of the twentieth century. A significant influence on Spilliaert was Odilon Redon[2], whose expressive use of black finds parallels in his own work. Frequently depicting a lone figure in a dreamlike space, Spilliaert's paintings convey a sense of melancholy and silence.
His later work shows a concentration on seascapes. He died on 23 November 1946 in Brussels.
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Hostyn, N., & Spilliaert, L. (2006). Léon Spilliaert: Leven en werk : doorheen de verzameling van het Museum voor Schone Kunsten Oostende = vie et œuvre : à travers la collection du Musée de Beaux-Arts d'Oostende = life and work : through the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Oostende = Leben und Werk : Führung durch die Sammlung des Museum voor Schone Kunsten Oostende. Oostkamp: Stichting Kunstboek. ISBN 9058561992
[edit] External links
- Fabritius gallery - A large collection of work in the database of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (French)
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