Paul Delvaux
Biography1897 - 1994
About the artist
Paul Delvaux, (1897, Antheit, Liège - 1994,Veurne) was a Belgian Surrealist painter and printmaker.
From 1920 to 1924 Delvaux studied architecture and painting at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. His early work was influenced by Post-Impressionism and Expressionism (Permeke, De Smet), but after discovering Dalí, De Chirico and Magritte, Delvaux adopted a Surrealist style about 1935. Before 1940 he travelled around Italy, and the examples of Classical architecture became a recurring motif in his work. During that trip he was also greatly influenced by early 16th-century Italian Mannerist painters. Like Magritte and Dalí, Delvaux created an illusionistic depiction of an illogical dream space. His oeuvre is notable for its unvarying style and motifs. Delvaux’s canvases show transfixed nudes and skeletons in mysterious settings. He was a professor of painting in Brussels from 1950 to 1962, and in 1982 the Paul Delvaux Museum opened in Sint-Idesbald (Koksijde), Belgium.
From 1920 to 1924 Delvaux studied architecture and painting at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. His early work was influenced by Post-Impressionism and Expressionism (Permeke, De Smet), but after discovering Dalí, De Chirico and Magritte, Delvaux adopted a Surrealist style about 1935. Before 1940 he travelled around Italy, and the examples of Classical architecture became a recurring motif in his work. During that trip he was also greatly influenced by early 16th-century Italian Mannerist painters. Like Magritte and Dalí, Delvaux created an illusionistic depiction of an illogical dream space. His oeuvre is notable for its unvarying style and motifs. Delvaux’s canvases show transfixed nudes and skeletons in mysterious settings. He was a professor of painting in Brussels from 1950 to 1962, and in 1982 the Paul Delvaux Museum opened in Sint-Idesbald (Koksijde), Belgium.
