DELVAUX Paul

Renowned Belgian surrealist painter, Paul Delvaux (1897-1994) crafted a world of hieratic women, temples, and nocturnal stations. Discover the artworks offered by Galerie 125 above.

Paul Delvaux, the Painter of Dreamy Women and Nocturnal Stations

Belgian painter Paul Delvaux (1897-1994) is one of the great figures of Surrealism. His nude women with large eyes, wandering like sleepwalkers in ancient cities, deserted stations, or moonlit nocturnal landscapes, have created a poetic, silent, and mysterious universe, immediately recognizable.

• 1897: born on September 23 in Antheit, near Huy, Belgium.
• 1920-1924: studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels.
• 1934: discovers the work of Giorgio de Chirico, a decisive shock.
• 1938: participates in the International Surrealist Exhibition in Paris.
• 1982: opening of the Paul Delvaux Foundation in Saint-Idesbald.
• 1994: dies in Veurne, on July 20.

A Classical Education

Son of a lawyer, Paul Delvaux studied architecture and then painting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. His early works are landscapes and station views in a post-impressionist, then expressionist style, influenced by James Ensor and Constant Permeke. Trains, stations, and trams, which he admired since childhood, would recur throughout his work.

The Revelation of Chirico and Surrealism

In 1934, Delvaux discovers the work of Giorgio de Chirico in Brussels during the "Minotaure" exhibition, which also includes Magritte, Salvador Dalí, and Max Ernst. It is a revelation: he then invents his own universe, where nude or draped women, with absent gazes, wait in ancient settings, deserted squares, and stations, accompanied by men in suits, skeletons, or distracted scholars inspired by Jules Verne.

An Independent Surrealist

Although he participates in surrealist exhibitions, Delvaux remains independent. His painting, precise and smooth, bathed in moonlight, expresses less shock than dream, waiting, and nostalgia. He also creates large murals, notably for the Kursaal in Ostend. His Foundation opens during his lifetime, in 1982, in Saint-Idesbald, on the Belgian coast.

Lithographs and Etchings

Delvaux created numerous lithographs and etchings, often in color, which revisit his major themes: dreamy women, stations, temples, lamps, and moons. His prints, signed and numbered, faithfully capture the silent atmosphere of his paintings.

Choosing a Paul Delvaux Work

• Dreamy women, nocturnal stations, and ancient settings are the most emblematic subjects.
• His color lithographs capture the lunar poetry of his canvases.
• Their silent atmosphere makes them ideal works for an office or bedroom.
• Each work offered by the gallery is precisely described and sold with an invoice-certificate.

Paul Delvaux at Galerie 125

The gallery offers above the lithographed poster of the Paul Delvaux exhibition at the Östergård gallery in Sweden in 1973, in the format 63 x 42 cm. Other lithographs and prints by the artist join the page as they arrive. Order online: your work is carefully delivered, tracked, and insured. Discover other surreal and fantastic universes: Félix Labisse, Leonor Fini, and Salvador Dalí.

Do you own a work by Paul Delvaux and wish to sell it? Find out how on our Sell a Work page.