In celebration of Surrealism’s 100th anniversary, La Boverie is hosting a major exhibition dedicated to Belgian artist Paul Delvaux to March 16, 2025. This unique retrospective takes an innovative approach, featuring three distinct journeys – thematic, interactive, and multimedia – to explore the entirety of Delvaux’s work and his significant contributions to Surrealism and art history as a whole.
The Worlds of Paul Delvaux
A major artist, Paul Delvaux developed a singular universe populated by strong iconographic elements that are echoed from one work to the next, like a pictorial conversation that would only end the day the painter laid down his pen and brush. But the works remain ad vitam aeternam… and the dialogue resumes in earnest when they find their place on the walls, brought together for a unique and unprecedented occasion. Side by side, paintings and drawings continue to converse, weaving their magic in an interplay of visual ricochets.
The itinerary, based on the themes dear to the maestro’s heart, disregards strict chronology to underline the permanence of his work. Acuity is the order of the day, as the resonances are so numerous that the subjects easily coexist, allowing for associations other than those presented. In this way, retracing one’s steps, walking backwards through the rooms, augments the field of interactions and fully highlights the coherence of this disorientating work.
Delvaux searched for his own style, developing it over the course of many attempts. He observed the works of his predecessors and contemporaries. He found in them a source of inspiration or, better still, the beginnings of a new possibility to explore. Along the way, the exhibition pauses at these points of convergence, revealing a kinship by placing two works side by side: one by Delvaux and the second by another artist. The latter is neither an intruder nor a guest but, on the contrary, a kind of Pygmalion without knowing it. Delvaux, although a solitary creator, shaped his world through contact with the work of his elders and colleagues. Through these visual encounters, the exhibition lifts a corner of the veil on previously unseen affiliations, and demonstrates the extent to which Delvaux’s world, seemingly hermetic and closed, is ultimately the fruit of the sum of its parts, those of the worlds Paul Delvaux chose for himself.
Magritte
Both considered to be representatives of Belgian surrealism, Magritte (1898-1967) and Delvaux were often asked to participate in joint exhibitions, with their works shown side by side. The discovery of Magritte’s works encouraged Delvaux to renew his pictorial approach, sensitive to the atmosphere he perceived. However, their approaches diverged. There is nothing in Delvaux’s work that questions received ideas. If he plays with reality, it is not in a spirit of provocation but to access his inner reality.
Permeke
Delvaux’s admiration for Permeke (1886-1952), who impressed him with his outspoken nature, did not prevent him from measuring himself against the master by creating works in the style of. He tackled large canvases with imposing figures. Delvaux’s Couple with Tam responds to Permeke’s Fiancés. The painter uses a contrasting effect between the two protagonists: she is fair-skinned, wears a white top and a bright red skirt, while he wears a dark suit and his skin is almost brown. The arm she places on his shoulder suggests the physical bond between them. Delvaux relies on the same stratagem used by Permeke.
Walking backwards through the rooms of the exhibition, augments the field of interactions and fully highlights the coherence of this disorientating work.
In this way, as the itinerary unfolds, overlapping interpretations reveal the originality of a body of work that develops as an autonomous pictorial space. They also bear witness to the artistic universes inherited by Delvaux’s work. In this way, it becomes clear that Paul Delvaux, who drew his inspiration from a multitude of sources, was not a follower, but rather a figure of art history. Is it therefore surprising that Andy Warhol wished to immortalize it?
A Complete Retrospective of Paul Delvaux’s Work
“Les Mondes de Paul Delvaux” brings together over 150 works in a unique retrospective that spans Delvaux’s entire career, from his earliest to his last pieces (1920-1986). This exhibition presents Delvaux’s iconic motifs—melancholic vestals, skeletons, trains, and antique emblems—side by side, evoking his timeless and enigmatic style. Breaking away from strict chronology, the exhibition highlights themes dear to Delvaux, revealing layers of influence and interaction.
In addition to contrasting Delvaux’s work with contemporaries like Magritte, De Chirico, Modigliani, and Picasso, the exhibition provides unique insights into his creative process through multimedia installations. Visitors can explore a reconstruction of Delvaux’s studio, view the evolution of the painting Rumeurs, and create their own Delvaux-inspired artwork with the interactive “Draw Me a Delvaux” feature.
‘Le dernier wagon’ is the only work in which the artist places his muse inside a railway carriage. The carriage’s interior is punctuated by seven windows opening onto the blue of the sky and the green of the fields. The red carpet on the floor creates a central perspective to which the painter frequently resorted. Seated alone on a bench, a naked young woman appears to be deep in thought. Her presence disturbs the symmetry of the composition, while her pearly skin makes her seem luminous. Her gaze, lost in the distance, seems inaccessible. Only she knows the destination of her journey.
Paul Delvaux’s Works
A fervent admirer of feminine beauty, Delvaux could not escape the subject of the reclining Venus, which inspired the greatest painters. Yet its appearance in Delvaux’s work stems from a vivid memory: the discovery of La Vénus endormie, a wax figure exhibited in the shack housing the Musée Spitzner at the Foire du Midi in Brussels. This strange place was a kind of anatomical museum, revealing the specificities of the body without omitting its anomalies. Only a doll lying in a glass coffin appeared normal. She seemed to breathe thanks to an ingenious mechanical system that raised her chest. Delvaux was so struck by this vision that it had a lasting effect on him. Unlike the other visitors to this unusual “museum”, Delvaux was not so much impressed by what he saw, as by the striking contrast between the joyous atmosphere of the fair and the silence that reigned as he approached the front of this shack. He was acutely aware of this palpable boundary, marking the edge between two worlds. From 1932 onwards, the reclining Venus found a place of choice in the artist’s work. Its representation was to evolve with the master’s style.
Paul Delvaux – La Vénus endormie I (1932)
In this singular oil painting, Delvaux draws inspiration from the Expressionist movement that shaped the Belgian art scene in the 1930s and the works of James Ensor. Here, Venus, released from her coffin, reclines with closed eyes, seemingly indifferent to the captivated onlookers transfixed by her beauty. Her figure, serene and detached, contrasts with the surrounding characters dressed in curious attire, each posed in a state of contemplative reverence. On the far left, a cashier from the Spitzner Museum stands aloof, unmoved by the scene, emphasizing the surreal tension in Delvaux’s composition.
Paul Delvaux – La Visite (1939)
La Visite is one of Delvaux’s most emblematic works, capturing both attention and controversy upon its display at a 1962 exhibition in Ostend. In a stark, unfurnished room adorned only by a ceiling of angels and a tassel chandelier, a naked woman sits on a simple stool, delicately holding her breasts. A naked boy enters the room, creating an unsettling ambiguity. Is this an allusion to initiation, or a suggestion of transgression? The painting was briefly removed from display for “gross indecency” before being re-hung with restricted access for viewers under 21.
Paul Delvaux – La Mise au tombeau (1953)
At the age of 7, Delvaux was impressed by the presence of a skeleton in the biology classroom. Overcoming his fear, Delvaux succeeded in making this structure his own, and it became a figure. During the Second World War, he took part in skeleton drawing sessions at the Brussels Museum of Natural Sciences. For him, the architecture of the skeleton embodied the very essence of life. From then on, he presented it as if it were a living being. In contrast to his impassive human faces, he lends it emotional expressions. If he includes skeletons in the Passion scenes it’s not to shock, but to accentuate their dramatic character. By stripping Man of his flesh, Delvaux brings him back to his universal condition, recalling the adage “we are all equal in the face of death”.
First exhibited in 1954 at the Venice Biennale’s Belgian Pavilion, La Mise au tombeau sparked scandal, with the cardinal even urging that clergy and believers be barred from viewing it due to its perceived offense. Delvaux reinterprets the traditional Passion iconography with a personal touch: Christ rests on a white shroud, while the Virgin Mary, draped in blue, mourns him. Skeletons, with their gestures and placement, heighten the drama, all within an ambiguous setting that resembles a warehouse, adding to the scene’s haunting power.
Paul Delvaux – Solitude (1955)
In Solitude, Delvaux initiates a new series of railway paintings. A young girl with long blond hair, dressed in red, stands quietly at the painting’s edge, gazing at the same scene as the viewer: a tranquil railway framed by a station and a white building, with freight cars resting on the track. The scene is balanced between the vertical insulation poles scattered throughout and the long, horizontal footbridge in the background. Each element contributes to a feeling of timelessness, evoking an otherworldly, dreamlike railway landscape where time feels paused.
Paul Delvaux – La Gare Forestière (1960)
Paul Delvaux – Le Tunnel (1978)
Paul Delvaux – Le Recitant (1937)
Events
Halloween-Themed Family Evening
🗓 Date: Thursday, October 31, 2024
Step into the enchanting world of Paul Delvaux, where imagination comes alive! Families are invited to experience storytelling sessions uniquely connected to Delvaux’s artwork, exploring themes of terror, fear, monsters, and death in surprising ways. Storytellers will guide groups through iconic paintings, unveiling Delvaux’s unusual take on Halloween themes.
For Delvaux, skeletons aren’t frightening—they reveal the shared humanity beneath our skin. Discover the Sleeping Venus, a wax figure reminiscent of Sleeping Beauty, and encounter a moonlit mermaid and a scientist seemingly pulled from a Jules Verne novel. It’s a Halloween adventure through the eyes of a surrealist!
Exhibition Details
This immersive exhibition, produced by Tempora in collaboration with the Paul Delvaux Foundation, La Boverie, and Demeter NPO, invites you to rediscover Delvaux’s poetic world, a Belgian and international art icon.
📅 Dates: October 4, 2024 – March 16, 2025
📍 Location: Musée de La Boverie, Parc de la Boverie 3, 4020 Liège
Admission Prices
- Standard admission: €18
- Young person (6-25 years): €12
- Child (-6 years): Free
- Article 27: €1.25
- Group (min. 15 people): €16 per person
- Family pack (2 adults and 2 young people): €54
- Combined ticket with permanent collections & Brûlures / Triennale Internationale de Gravure exhibition: + €2 (free for under-26s).