.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Executed in 1908, Phare sur la digue is a testament to the spellbinding power of Léon Spilliaert’s enigmatic nocturnal landscapes. A remarkable artist who forged his own unique path against the backdrop of Symbolism and the growing interest in Expressionism that took hold of the avant-garde in his native Belgium, Spilliaert created pictures that were profoundly poetic and intensely atmospheric. Though he was always careful to maintain a safe distance from involvement with movements and groups, his pioneering creative vision had a lasting legacy on a younger generation of Surrealist artists, both in Belgium and farther afield, who were captivated by the intense mystery of Spilliaert’s avant-garde compositions.
Spilliaert was inspired, first and foremost, by the constant presence of the sea unfurling on the beaches of Ostend, the coastal town where the artist lived and worked for the majority of his life. His intense familiarity with this environment granted him a deeper understanding of the picturesque location, allowing him to appreciate the shifting dynamics of the town through the year – from the bustling crowds that were attracted to the fashionable seaside resort at the peak of its high season, to the windswept landscape and deserted streets during the quiet, winter months.
In 1908, Spilliaert rented a small attic studio on the edge of the quays for several months, which provided him with an uninterrupted view of the comings and goings of the port. In Phare sur la digue however, it is the empty seafront, steeped in shadow and devoid of people during the dark hours past midnight, that draws his attention. During bouts of insomnia, Spilliaert would often embark on solitary, nocturnal walks through Ostend, traversing the same routes through the town across multiple nights. It is this quiet, mysterious world that lay behind the lively, bustling resort, the intrigue and drama of the empty thoroughfares and arcades at night, that ensnared his imagination.
In Phare sur la digue the composition hinges on a dramatic sense of perspective, as the monumental sea-wall curves through the scene in a great sweeping arc of velvety black pigment, leading the eye to the very edge of the water and the rolling waves. The lighthouse, solid and protective, watches over the abandoned seafront, standing silently at the end of the promenade, a beacon to guide sailors home through the approaching band of dark clouds that roll in from the horizon. Here, the sky, the sea, and the beach are all reduced to almost abstract planes, their forms simplified and clearly demarcated from one another to create a beguiling play of visuals. There is a nuanced play of tone throughout the scene, revealing Spilliaert’s consummate technical skills, as he carefully modulated varying shades of black and grey across the sheet to create a soft play of light and darkness within the atmospheric landscape. The artist experimented continuously with his materials through this period, using different combinations of pen, pencil, India ink, charcoal, gouache, chalk, watercolour and coloured crayons to achieve such strikingly evocative images.
The author François Jollivet-Castelot, who met Spilliaert shortly after Phare sur la digue was executed, described the inherent beauty of the Belgian artist’s approach and his ability to prompt his viewers to see the world anew. ‘In the presence of Spilliaert’s magnificent works there is always a sensation of greatness, of profound thought,’ he wrote. ‘His art communicates, above all, the vertigo of the infinite. When he paints a seascape, it is as if, there in front of you, is the endless ocean with its mysterious waves, the monotonous beach and a sky which becomes one with the sea in the distance... No limits, no milestones, no premature stopping places. Horizons flee, plunging through space, creating a dream of thoughts and hopes… Spilliaert’s style remains untiringly grand, beautiful, simple – as large as nature herself’ (quoted in F. Edebau, ‘Spilliaert: Artist of Ostend,’ in Léon Spilliaert: Symbol and Expression in 20th Century Belgian Art, exh. cat., The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., 1980, p. 13).
Spilliaert was inspired, first and foremost, by the constant presence of the sea unfurling on the beaches of Ostend, the coastal town where the artist lived and worked for the majority of his life. His intense familiarity with this environment granted him a deeper understanding of the picturesque location, allowing him to appreciate the shifting dynamics of the town through the year – from the bustling crowds that were attracted to the fashionable seaside resort at the peak of its high season, to the windswept landscape and deserted streets during the quiet, winter months.
In 1908, Spilliaert rented a small attic studio on the edge of the quays for several months, which provided him with an uninterrupted view of the comings and goings of the port. In Phare sur la digue however, it is the empty seafront, steeped in shadow and devoid of people during the dark hours past midnight, that draws his attention. During bouts of insomnia, Spilliaert would often embark on solitary, nocturnal walks through Ostend, traversing the same routes through the town across multiple nights. It is this quiet, mysterious world that lay behind the lively, bustling resort, the intrigue and drama of the empty thoroughfares and arcades at night, that ensnared his imagination.
In Phare sur la digue the composition hinges on a dramatic sense of perspective, as the monumental sea-wall curves through the scene in a great sweeping arc of velvety black pigment, leading the eye to the very edge of the water and the rolling waves. The lighthouse, solid and protective, watches over the abandoned seafront, standing silently at the end of the promenade, a beacon to guide sailors home through the approaching band of dark clouds that roll in from the horizon. Here, the sky, the sea, and the beach are all reduced to almost abstract planes, their forms simplified and clearly demarcated from one another to create a beguiling play of visuals. There is a nuanced play of tone throughout the scene, revealing Spilliaert’s consummate technical skills, as he carefully modulated varying shades of black and grey across the sheet to create a soft play of light and darkness within the atmospheric landscape. The artist experimented continuously with his materials through this period, using different combinations of pen, pencil, India ink, charcoal, gouache, chalk, watercolour and coloured crayons to achieve such strikingly evocative images.
The author François Jollivet-Castelot, who met Spilliaert shortly after Phare sur la digue was executed, described the inherent beauty of the Belgian artist’s approach and his ability to prompt his viewers to see the world anew. ‘In the presence of Spilliaert’s magnificent works there is always a sensation of greatness, of profound thought,’ he wrote. ‘His art communicates, above all, the vertigo of the infinite. When he paints a seascape, it is as if, there in front of you, is the endless ocean with its mysterious waves, the monotonous beach and a sky which becomes one with the sea in the distance... No limits, no milestones, no premature stopping places. Horizons flee, plunging through space, creating a dream of thoughts and hopes… Spilliaert’s style remains untiringly grand, beautiful, simple – as large as nature herself’ (quoted in F. Edebau, ‘Spilliaert: Artist of Ostend,’ in Léon Spilliaert: Symbol and Expression in 20th Century Belgian Art, exh. cat., The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., 1980, p. 13).