Léon Spilliaert

Wilfried & Paul Van Houtte, Ostend
Sale : Oud-Ostende, Estate of M. Paul Van Houtte, 1960s
Private Collection, Belgium (acquired before 1975)
Thence by descent

Antwerp, Galerij Campo, Spilliaert, 1965, no. 20
Ostend, Galerij Onze Schilders, Léon Spilliaert, 1967, no. 106
Brussels, Musée d'Ixelles, Léon Spilliaert, 1972, no. 19
Helsinki, Kluuvin Galleria, Léon Spilliaert 1881-1946, 1975, no. 8
Oslo, Kunstnernes Hus, Léon Spilliaert, 1977, no. 9
Washington, The Phillips Collection & New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Léon Spilliaert, Symbol and Expression in 20th century Belgian art, 1980, no. 10
Paris, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais & Brussels, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Léon Spilliaert 1881-1946, 1981-2, no. 18, reproduit p. 69
Lisbon, Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian, Galeria de Exposiçoes Temporariás, Léon Spilliaert, 1984, n.n.
Winnipeg, The Winnipeg Art Gallery, Léon Spilliaert 1881-1946, 1985, no. 10
Frankfurt, Kunstverein, Pastelle und Zeichnungen des belgischen Symbolismus, 1988, n.n.
Ostend, Provinciaal Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Van Ensor tot Delvaux : Ensor, Spilliaert, Permeke, Magritte, Delvaux, 1996-97, n.n.
Paris, Musée-Galerie de la Seita, Spilliaert : œuvres de jeunesse, 1900-1918, Paris, 1997, n.n.
Brussels, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Léon Spilliaert : Un esprit libre, 2006, no. 53

Bruno Toscano, Simbolismo e intimismo fine secolo, Milan, 1966, no. 274
Francine-Claire Legrand, The Symbolist Movement, New York, 1980, illustrated p. 32
Francine-Claire Legrand, Léon Spilliaert et son époque, Antwerp, 1981, illustrated p. 127
Xavier Tricot, Léon Spilliaert, les années 1900-1915, Ghent, 1996, illustrated p. 163
Anne Adriaens-Pannier & Norbert Hostyn, Spilliaert, Paris, 1996, illustrated pp. 75-75
Anne Adriaens-Pannier, Spilliaert, Brussels, 1998, illustrated p. 67
Anne Adriaens-Pannier, Spilliaert, le regard de l'âme, Brussels, 2006, no. 104, illustrated p. 82

Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down. The edges have been consolidated with craft paper which has created a certain waviness to the sheet and a faint horizontal crease running across the top of the composition. There are lesser creases beneath, as well as under the flowers in the lower right. There are some minor pigment losses inherent to the pastel technique, notably on the hat, and some old traces of liquid on the centre of the woman's body. There are artists pinholes in the corners and middle of the edges, along with some minor nicks and scuffs and time-staining (not visible when framed). Further time-staining is visible on the reverse. There is one small round brown stain in the upper right, in the background to the left of the signature. Otherwise this work is in good overall condition.
"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."

"My soul is sad in the end;

It is sad of being weary

It is sad of being frustrated

It is sad and weary in the end

And I long to have your hands on my face."

Maurice Maeterlinck, 'Âme de nuit', Serres chaudes, 1889.

 

From the end of the 19th Century, absinthe was a recurring inspritational theme for artists. Widely feted by poets (from Verlaine in his Confessions, Zola with the tragic story of Nana, to Baudelaire, Hugo, Rimbaud and Musset), this new, fashionable liquor also gave rise to several pictorial representations. From L’Absinthe by Degas (1876, Paris, Musée d’Orsay) to Picasso's series La Buveuse d’absinthe (in 1901 and 1902), and also including works by Manet, Daumier, Toulouse-Lautrec and Félicien Rops, whose La Buveuse d’absinthe provoked scandal at the time (1865, Bibliothèque royale de Bruxelles, Cabinet des Estampes), many artists confronted the theme of the "green fairy".

In this powerful work by Spilliaert, the glass of absinthe itself is not depicted. The composition presents a woman with a ghostly pallor, whose long hair seems to merge with the black of her dress. With her bulging eyes she stares at the viewer, her palm firmly placed at a right angle to stop it trembling. The unsteady air and haggard expression make this woman the very image of a female addict, teetering between life and death in a semi-conscious state. As Adriaens-Pannier puts it, "The woman so often portrayed by Spilliaert is on the verge of losing contact with the real world [...]. She seems to pierce the unfathomable enigma of life with her bulging eyes and dilated pupils. She has crossed the point of no return. [...] She elicits the heartwrenching sensation of a wasted existence. The femme fatale has become a fallen angel, and the shadows around her eyes betray the inevitability of her fate" (Anne Adriaens-Pannier, Spilliaert, Le Regard de l’âme, Brussels, 2006, p. 83).

The framing of the composition, the angular forms, the contrast of dark and light and the expressivity of the face confer this work with a visual power that recalls the work of Munch, who shared the same influences as Spilliaert. We find ourselves here at the heart of Spilliaert's artistic process, which aimed to convey mankinds interior turmoil. La Buveuse d’absinthe employs the same visual motifs as the artists iconic self-portraits: a deathly pale complexion, wild-eyed gaze, dark shadows, and unsettling expression.  With these elements the artist seeks to explore the depths of human consciousness. In order to express this introspective process, in line with the  predominatly black palettes explored by Whistler and Redon, Spilliaert principally uses the media of ink, pastel and gouache, which enable him to create a disquiteningly strange atmosphere, conveying  mystery, solitute and hallucination.