The house on Euphrosina Beernaertstraat, named after the Ostend landscape painter (1831-1901), was situated at the centrally located Leopold Park.
The park, designed by Louis Fuchs, was partially constructed on the old city walls in the 1860s, as an English-style park with winding paths, small bridges and later a kiosk. Spilliaert enjoyed spending time in the park and enthusiastically captured the tree branches, kiosk and water feature in his work. In September 1928, he held an exhibition of his recent work in this house.1 It is possible that he also portrayed Madeleine at the piano here. Most of the houses on the street were originally bourgeois homes built in around 1900 - the house at number 58 has since been demolished.2 It wasn’t long before Spilliaert found the home too gloomy, so the family moved elsewhere just a year later, in May 1929.3
