Les plaisirs de la glissoire 1918

Editor: Here we have "Les plaisirs de la glissoire," or "The pleasures of the slide," a pen drawing from 1918 by Léon Spilliaert. It feels almost like a snapshot of chaotic joy, all these children skating. It's almost... comical in a way! What do you see in this piece, beyond just the obvious, Curator? Curator: Oh, you've hit the nail on the head! Comical is absolutely the word! It feels like peering into a dream, doesn't it? Spilliaert was, shall we say, no stranger to darker, more introspective themes, so this bursting, joyful scene really does pop against his usual fare. Editor: Absolutely! You see it too, that slightly unsettling energy under the cheer. It makes you wonder what he was thinking, or maybe even feeling, when he drew this. Was he perhaps looking back to simpler, happier times? Curator: Maybe... or, you know, it could be that this crowd dynamic here - like a frozen human river, full of near misses - reflects our own complex, messy lives. All the while trying to keep up, of course! Doesn't the texture in the drawing remind you of old fairytales? Do you see a child, an innocent monster, near the left corner of the picture? I find this detail incredible! Editor: Yes! I was focusing on all of the active bodies but that’s true! That detail lends another layer, almost fantastical, to the everyday scene. It is indeed quite different from what he is know for! It brings this idea that childhood isn't just simple joy, but a world filled with the possibility of magical creatures and unpredictable turns. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure! Sometimes a simple, playful scene like this holds so much more than what meets the eye, no? It makes you want to dig deeper and look closer for the hidden treasures!