Paul Delvaux Nude Drawings and Watercolors

*PLEASE NOTE UK BUYERS WILL ONLY PAY 5% VAT ON THIS PURCHASE. Les Captives by Paul Delvaux (1897-1994) Pen, Indian ink and wash on paper 35 x 43.5 cm (13 ³/₄ x 17 ¹/₈ inches) Signed and dated lower right, P. Delvaux 1955 Inscribed on the reverse Provenance: Christie's London, 2010 Private collection, London, acquired from the above Artist biography: Belgian artist Paul Delvaux was born in Liège in eastern Belgium. Despite Delvaux’s desire to become an artist, his lawyer father encouraged him to train as an architect at the prestigious Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. Thanks to private art tuition undertaken alongside his architectural studies, in 1925 Delvaux gained his first solo exhibition in Brussels. Heavily influenced by contemporary Expressionism and Surrealism, Delvaux was soon drawn to the ‘metaphysical’ paintings of Italian artist Giorgio de Chirico. On a chance visit to a museum of medical curiosities...

Paul Delvaux 1897-1994 Belgian Study for “L’Acropole” Signed and dated "P.Delvaux 1965" (lower right) Watercolor, pen and ink on paper This preliminary drawing for Paul Delvaux’s greatest masterpiece L’Acropole, which resides today in the Centre Pompidou in Paris, features the artist’s most beloved subject — mystical scenes of nude women. A centrally-placed, stoic woman draped in a long green gown stands with her arms outstretched by her sides. She gazes at another idealized woman in the foreground, lying nude on a chaise lounge, while behind her, multitudes of other women in white dresses undertake a long procession towards a distant door. The captivating scene exudes the unique Surrealist style for which the artist has become known. With this skillful rendering of the surreal setting, Delvaux has mastered depicting nude women in a sensual yet non-erotic manner. The artist drew inspiration from a variety of sources, including the futuristic writings of Jules Verne and the mythos of Homer, and blended them with his subconscious themes, which frequently included the nude female form. In combination with the loose concepts of form and perspective found in the 16th-century Mannerist paintings that Delvaux studied in Italy before World War II, his distinctive style served to create memorable dreamscapes without veering into lewdness. Like the very best Surrealist images, the work is both innovative and engaging. Paul Delvaux's earliest and most lasting influences in his art were the futuristic writings of Jules Verne and the mythos of Homer. After completing his initial artistic training at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Delvaux exhibited with Surrealists Dalí...