Spilliaert was overcome with a sense of loneliness following the disappointment of his first exhibition in Paris, where none of his works sold.
He was a virtually unknown 23-year-old artist.1 After the summer of 1904, he returned to Paris and discovered the art of Paul Cézanne. He continued to make regular visits to the city of light. In Ostend, he participated in the life of literary society, with the reading and art circle De Dageraad and the local Cercle Artistique et Littéraire. In late 1906, he met poet Henri Vandeputte, who later became a lifelong friend and promoted Spilliaert’s work.
A love affair, which was on rocky ground in 1907, may be the reason why Spilliaert produced little work in 1906. He stayed in touch with Deman and his daughter Paule, according to correspondence and a portrait of Paule.
Meanwhile his seascapes began to acquire more form and depth: clouds, tide lines and here and there, human figures like black stick men strolling around.
