24. Léon Spilliaert
Ostend artist Léon Spilliaert drew self-portraits, produced drawings of the sea, of women, landscapes and interiors, as well as flowers, shells and books - the ingredients of the traditional still life. Almost all the works in the exhibition date from a particularly productive period between 1907 and 1909. It was when Spilliaert produced his famous self-portraits and intriguing views of the dyke, as well as a large number of interiors and still lifes. Spilliaert transformed 'the portrait of things' completely to his will, presenting the world of things as a kind of in-between world. The objects he depicts no longer belong in our living environment. They seem to be of a different order, as if enchanted, stripped of their ordinary meaning.
For example, in the work Vase and Shell, two peacock tails stare at you, like eyes wide open. A few twigs reach upwards, a gaping shell with tiny feet skims the monumental vase.
Spilliaert removes the objects from their familiar surroundings and observes them in detail. Like The Blue Bowl. How big or small is it? There is no hint of any spatial dimensions. A similar feeling creeps up on you in Plants, Ink Pot and Mirror. Some plants and a bottle of ink stand in a corner. Spilliaert cuts off the top and bottom of the image, but it is reflected in the mirror.
Or what about Console with Books and Boxes, Figure Seen from Behind? We see the back of a figure - probably his brother - which creates an uncanny atmosphere, as if the man has been caught and we find ourselves playing the role of spy.