- Léon Spilliaert
Léon Spilliaert (1881 – 1946) was a Belgian symbolist painter and graphic artist.
Spilliaert was born in
Ostend and from childhood 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 inBrussels for Edmond Demon, a publisher of the works of symbolist writers, which Spilliaert was to illustrate. He especially admired the work ofEdgar Allan Poe .Watercolor ,gouache , andcharcoal were the means by which he produced much of his best work, including a number of self-portraits executed in black crayon in the early years of the twentieth century. A significant influence on Spilliaert wasOdilon Redon , 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 in 1946 in Brussels.
External links
* [http://193.190.214.109/webopac/List.csp?SearchT1=&Index1=Index24&Database=2&SearchMethod=Find_1&SearchTerm1=Spilliaert&SearchTerm2=&SearchTerm3=&OpacLanguage=fre&Profile=Default&RequestId=1_96&PageType=RecordListFind&PreviousList=RecordListFind&WebPageNr=1&NumberToRetrieve=10&WebAction=NewSearch&StartValue=1 Fabritius gallery] - A large collection of work in the database of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (French)
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