Leon Spilliaert

Went to an exhibition of early 20th century Belgian artist Leon Spilliaert at the Musees royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique yesterday. I like his name because it makes me think he was "spilling over with art." Of course, "spill" probably means "to play" in Flemish, in which case you could say he was "playing with art." Either way it tickles me.

Influenced intellectually and artistically by the likes of Nietzsche and Picasso, Spilliaert experimented with symbolism, expressionism, surrealism, and even Japanese engravings in his art. Out of that melange of thinking and creating emerged his unique style. He used precise lines to create semi-distorted depictions of people and places. He was born in Oostende on the Belgian coast and thus loved to paint pictures of dikes, beaches, and bathers. In the exhibit there were lots of 'em. But he also whipped out some fascinating paintings of women, different seasons, and even Elijah's chariot and Eve and the serpent. He did a lot of self-portraits that are quite striking, and not always flattering. Needless to say, it is difficult to put this man in an artistic-period-box.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find images of a couple of my favorite paintings that I saw at the exhibition anywhere on the internet. Here is one that represents his work well, entitled "Vertigo, Magic Staircase":


And here is one of his quirky self-portraits:

These are both in black and white, but he did do many color paintings as well, especially later in his career. I really like his style.