De Witte Hoeve 1930

Léon Spilliaert painted De Witte Hoeve with watercolor and ink, building it up with washes of color. What I love here is how the process feels so present in the final piece. Look at the texture, the way he’s let the paint pool and drip. This reminds me how the materiality of paint can give a sense of depth, it’s not just about depicting depth. The white of the building isn’t a flat, uniform white. It’s a layered, textured white, punctuated by the dark accents of the windows and trees. Take a look at the grassy foreground, and how the watercolor bleeds into the paper. It's almost like he's letting the medium lead the way, a collaboration between artist and material. Spilliaert has a real affinity with the work of Edvard Munch. Both artists share a similar sensibility, an emphasis on line and a pared-down approach to color. They create spaces of visual experimentation rather than illustration and show us that art is always a conversation.