The Worlds of Paul Delvaux: A retrospective at La Boverie
Liège, Belgium
09 January 2025
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Surrealism, La Boverie in Liège, Belgium is hosting ‘Les Mondes de Paul Delvaux’, a major retrospective on the celebrated Belgian artist Paul Delvaux (1897-1994). Running from October 4, 2024, to March 16, 2025, this exhibition offers a comprehensive exploration of Delvaux’s contributions to Surrealism and art history through an innovative blend of thematic, interactive, and multimedia experiences. With over 150 works and objects on display, ‘Les Mondes de Paul Delvaux’ is an opportunity to engage with the mysterious and poetic world of this iconic artist.
This exhibition is an exploration of one of Belgium’s most distinctive artists. Through its thematic structure, multimedia components, and the collaborative curated work, including the enigmatic ‘La Fin du voyage’, the exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in Delvaux’s poetic universe. La Boverie’s retrospective, created in partnership with the Paul Delvaux Foundation and Tempora, offers a compelling opportunity to rediscover an artist who transformed his memories and dreams into timeless visual narratives.
A Retrospective of Delvaux’s Pictorial Universe
Paul Delvaux crafted a unique visual language marked by recurring motifs, such as melancholic women, trains, skeletons, and classical architecture. This exhibition showcases Delvaux’s works from 1920 to 1986, arranged not chronologically but thematically, encouraging fresh interpretations and new dialogues between pieces. Delvaux’s works are displayed alongside those of other influential artists, offering a rich context for his development. While connections to Surrealists like René Magritte and Giorgio De Chirico are well-known, the exhibition also highlights Delvaux’s lesser-explored affinities with artists like Amedeo Modigliani, Constant Permeke, and Gustave De Smet.
The exhibition’s multimedia approach allows visitors to explore Delvaux’s creative process intimately. One highlight is a reconstructed version of his studio, offering a glimpse into his working environment. An interactive feature called “Draw Me a Delvaux” invites visitors to compose their own Delvaux-inspired artworks using his signature iconographic elements.
Thematic Threads and Inspirations
Delvaux’s art reflects a blend of personal memories, classical references, and Surrealist themes. His fascination with trains, rooted in childhood memories of watching streetcars in his hometown of Liège, surfaces repeatedly in his paintings. These trains, often incongruously placed in dreamlike settings, evoke a sense of nostalgia and escape.
Women also dominate Delvaux’s pictorial world. Depicted as serene, mysterious figures, they embody various facets of femininity—from the romantic to the enigmatic. The artist’s portrayal of the reclining Venus, inspired by a wax figure from the Spitzner Museum, is another recurring motif that bridges classical tradition and personal memory.
Delvaux’s work captures the essence of Surrealism by juxtaposing familiar elements in uncanny ways. Though he distanced himself from the political and collective aspects of the Surrealist movement, his dreamlike compositions and enigmatic narratives earned him a place among the movement’s key figures.
La Fin du voyage
One of the exhibition’s highlights is La Fin du voyage (1968), on loan from Opera Gallery. Created the same year Delvaux represented Belgium at the Venice Biennale, this painting exemplifies the artist’s synthesis of personal memory and art historical influence.
The composition features a nude female figure—reminiscent of Botticelli’s Venus—illuminated against a dark valley. Behind her, a green train emerges from a sunlit beach scene, traveling toward the shadowed landscape. The piece captures Delvaux’s signature ambiguity: the train appears simultaneously in motion and abandoned, while the figure’s light seems to emanate from within.
This interplay of clarity and mystery invites multiple interpretations. Delvaux once said, “I am convinced that the explanation of the picture is written in the picture itself.” His use of recurring symbols—the Venus figure, trains, and surreal landscapes—reflects his lifelong effort to reconcile memory, reality, and imagination.
