Léon Spilliaert exhibition, Royal Academy

Following on from the Helene Schjerfbeck exhibition this year, the Royal Academy is set to hold an survey of works by another European artist whose work is lauded at home, but remains almost entirely unknown across the Channel. Léon Spilliaert was, according to the Royal Academy, fuelled by 'existential angst' and his subjects varied from windswept landscapes to unsettling portraits.

The exhibition will feature some 90 of his works, which are held in major collections across the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. A largely self-taught artist, Spilliaert was a sickly and reclusive child, who spent a great deal of time doodling. At 21 he moved to Brussels as an illustrator for Edmond Deman – a publisher of symbolist literature – and took his inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe and Odilon Redon.

This exhibition will appeal to those who like their art on the darker side. If you enjoyed Edvard Munch at the British Museum, this could be just the thing for you. We will bring you more information nearer the time.