Paul DELVAUX (Antheit, 1897 - St Idesbald, 1994)

Inhabited by narcotic creatures, totally indifferent to each other, Paul Delvaux's painting seems to be the work of a person who grew up too quickly. Skeletons, young naked barely nubile women, young pubescent men, hallucinating scientists, deserted railway stations, brothels - all are the recurring images that appear in his works: dreamlike visions devoid of pretension, childhood dreams of touching naivety are set into scenes where De Chirico's influence is omnipresent.

In the manner of the surrealists, the artist, while very attentive to the rules of composition, leaves no trace of his materials. No relief, no brush strokes. From a purely technical point of view, it seems that it is only perspective that interests him. It plays a major role in his dreamlike compositions, defines the limits and reinforces the mystery emanating from the paintings with his strange, nearly scholastic discipline.
Set within an intimist universe, set amid an architectural setting of pure classical lines, Delvaux organises his compositions with the precision of a studious, concentrated child and this within a silence heavy with things unspoken. The Museum of Fine Arts owns one painting and two lithographs by Paul Delvaux.