An Unsung Belgian Artistic Genius And His Atmospheric, Haunting Canvases

The Belgian artist Léon Spilliaert “is the great night bird of modern art. Restless, insomniac, and suffering from stomach ulcers from a very young age, he would rise in the small hours and walk the dead streets to the long promenade where Ostend meets the shore. His art is captivated by the unnerving solitude and silence. Image after image shows the empty seafront, the lone gaslights along the pier, the vertiginous steps dropping down to the wide blank sands, the black sea turning over and over.” Perfect for February, really. – The Observer (UK)