In May 1922, the Spilliaert family returned to Ostend where they lived until 1935.1
During those thirteen years they moved no fewer than five times, almost always in May when spring was in the air. Their first Ostend rental home was an apartment in the grand Peter Benoitstraat, at number 13. The entire street had a homogeneous appearance, with single houses in eclectic or Art Nouveau style.2 Next to the house with a typical belle-époque bay window, there was an almost identical façade on the right-hand side. Seemingly, the street and the view in particular continued to fascinate Spilliaert, because six years after he moved out, he reproduced on paper the stately house at number 10, right across the street from his former home.
