In the first half of 2023 the Fondation de l’Hermitage will host a major retrospective of Léon Spilliaert (Ostend 1881 – Brussels 1946), one of the most important representatives of Belgian art in the early 20th century. Convinced that he was destined to be an artist, Spilliaert was self-taught, his thinking shaped by the literature of his time. He created his profoundly original work almost entirely on paper, combining different graphic techniques in images imbued with metaphysical questioning and Flemish culture. His art can be linked to the Symbolism and Expressionism of his time, while the extreme simplification of his most radical landscapes seems to herald geometrical abstraction and minimalism.
Four works by Spilliart from the MSK collection also traveled to Lausanne and are featured in the exhibition: The Absinth Drinker (1907), The Second of November (Interioir) (1907-1908), Winter Landscape (1915) en Porcelain Dog (1922).
The exhibition will run until May 29, 2023. All info can be found here.