- 257
Léon Spilliaert
Estimate
6,000 - 8,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Léon Spilliaert
- cloche de verre
- signed and dated L Spilliaert 1918 lower right
- ink and coloured crayons on paper
- 48 by 35.5cm., 19 by 14in.
Exhibited
La Louvière, Musée Ianchelevici, Artistes belges en 1914-1918, 1998
Literature
Anna Adriaens-Pannier, Léon Spilliaert, Le regard de l'âme, Ghent, 2006, pp. 152-153, no. 207, illustrated
Condition
Unexamined out of frame and under glass, this work is in good condition apart from two tears emanating from the lower left edge (approx. 0.3cm. and 2cm.) and one very minor tear to the right of the upper edge (approx. 0.2cm.). The colours are fresh and the bodycolour rich. Held in a simple, polychrome painted wood frame with a cream slip, under glass.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
The present work is inspired by one of the Symbolist poems of Maurice Maeterlinck from the collection Serres Chaudes (Hothouses). Spilliaert illustrates a line from the poem 'Cloches de Verre' ('The Bell-Jars'): '... the hermit in his cell is observed by a troupe of little girls' (from Richard Howard's translation of Serres Chaudes, Hothouses: Poems 1889, Princeton & Oxford, 2003, p. 13). Spilliaert's depiction of the hermit, like Maerterlinck's verse, is in part self-referential, sharing Verlaine's conception of the artiste as the poète maudit, misunderstood and unafraid of solitude in the face of an ignorant public.