Madeleine, the first and only child of Léon Spilliaert and Rachel Vergison, was born on 15 November 1917, in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek. Her father, absolutely overjoyed with his daughter, often portrayed her and his wife in his work. As soon as Madeleine was able to, she accompanied him on his walks in the park, quietly so as not to disturb him. As a child, she also became good friends with some of Spilliaert’s adult friends.
For example, in the 1920s they went to the beach with the family of Oscar Jespers or Constant Permeke. In the mid-1920s, probably due to Kursaal director Henri Vandeputte who had become a friend, Madeleine took part in a few races and sandcastle competitions organised on the beach at the Kursaal. Her great friend was architect Pierre Vandervoort, to whom she dedicated one of her first piano compositions. Indeed, she had quite a talent when it came to music and the piano. Her father gifted his accomplished daughter a Pleyel piano, had her take lessons at the Ostend conservatory and portrayed her as she played.1 At the Ostend Conservatory she received piano lessons from, among others, Miss Henriette Fremaut. Her parents took Madeleine’s musical talent and ambition seriously, even moving permanently to Brussels in 1935, so she could study piano at the Royal Conservatory.2 In 1936, she participated in a competition in Ostend.
In August 1937, shortly after the death of her grandmother Léonie Jonckheere, Madeleine married Dutch student Anthonius (Tony) van Rossum.3 Her marriage made Léon Spilliaert unhappy; not only did he miss his daughter, but his life was now devoid of her wonderful piano playing. During the war, the couple had three children: Irmingarde, Frederick and Johan. On Sundays, they visited their grandparents who lived nearby. Spilliaert gave his daughter books, including philosophical literature, as well as the Bible. He probably gave her the latter around the time of her divorce.4
After the war, and Spilliaert’s death, Rachel moved in with Madeleine, who found herself a single mother of three children after her divorce. Together, they authenticated unsigned works by Spilliaert. After her mother’s death in 1979, Madeleine became solely responsible for the more than 300 works by Spilliaert in her possession.5 She contributed to Spilliaert’s place in art history until her death in 2005, including through conversations with researchers and museum staff such as Frank Edebau and Norbert Hostyn (MSK Ostend), Francine-Claire Legrand and Anne Adriaens-Pannier (KMSKB, Brussels) and through a number of donations.
