Paul Delvaux at La Boverie: Poetry and Mystery
In the year celebrating the centenary of Surrealism, the La Boverie Museum in Liège, Belgium, opens its doors to an unprecedented retrospective dedicated to the Belgian artist Paul Delvaux (1897–1994). Until March 16, 2025, more than 150 works come together in a singular dialogue, revealing the complexity and dreamlike poetry of the artist, whose train cars, skeletons, and melancholic vestals are as characteristic as they are fascinating.
LEFT: Paul Delvaux, Le Récitant, 1937, oil on canvas, 70 x 80 cm, collection Foundation Paul Delvaux © Foundation Paul Delvaux, Belgium/SABAM, 2024 © Photo Vincent Everarts; RIGHT: Paul Delvaux, L'Aube, 1943, oil on canvas, 80 x 100 cm, private collection on deposit at Musée Paul Delvaux © Foundation Paul Delvaux, Belgium/SABAM, 2024 © Photo Vincent Everarts
Who Was Paul Delvaux
Born in 1897, Delvaux studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels but soon took his own path as a largely self-taught artist. Fascinated by the works of Jules Verne from an early age, he developed a fertile imagination where science, classical architecture, and the female figure merged in a dreamlike manner. Although frequently associated with Surrealism, Delvaux never officially joined the movement or embraced its politics, remaining in a hybrid zone: he painted scenes of great serenity and delicacy, yet interspersed with out-of-place elements that provoke an inexplicable sense of unease. The classical harmony of his compositions occasionally gives way to dreamlike—or even nightmarish—atmospheres.
LEFT: Paul Delvaux, Le Tunnel, 1978, oil on canvas, 150 x 250 cm, collection Foundation Paul Delvaux © Foundation Paul Delvaux, Belgium/SABAM, 2024 © Photo Vincent Everarts; RIGHT: Paul Delvaux, La Gare forestière, 1960, oil on canvas, 160 x 220 cm, collection Foundation Paul Delvaux © Foundation Paul Delvaux, Belgium/SABAM, 2024 © Photo Vincent Everarts
Inspirations and Artistic Dialogues
Magritte and De Chirico are often cited as key influences on Delvaux, especially following the “Minotaure” exhibition (1934). However, the show at La Boverie uncovers other, less apparent encounters. One of these is Delvaux’s admiration for Amedeo Modigliani, which encouraged the budding painter to explore the female nude in all its intensity. There are also little-known connections with Belgian Expressionists such as Constant Permeke and Gustave De Smet, as well as an unexpected parallel with Pablo Picasso in the evocation of antiquity.
LEFT: Delvaux 2024. La Boverie © Tempora © dbcreation; RIGHT: Delvaux 2024. La Boverie © Tempora © dbcreation
The Curatorial Journey
Conceived by the Tempora company in partnership with the Paul Delvaux Foundation and Demeter NPO, the exhibition is structured into three itineraries: thematic, interactive, and multimedia. This framework allows visitors to immerse themselves gradually and dynamically in the painter’s world. Right at the entrance, a staged setting recreates Delvaux’s studio—complete with paintbrushes, skulls, and old lanterns that inspired his nocturnal scenes and the constant presence of skeletons in his works. Next, visitors discover the creative process behind “Rumeurs” (1980), observing the transformation from the initial sketch to the final oil-on-canvas version.
 Paul Delvaux, La Mise au tombeau, 1953, oil on wood, 175 x 300 cm, La Boverie, Liège © Foundation Paul Delvaux, Belgium/SABAM, 2024 © Photo Vincent Everarts
Featured Works
Among the pieces on display are masterpieces such as “Tam” (1930), depicting one of his central muses, and “Nu sur la plage” (1934), where the female nude contrasts with a solitary landscape. The enigmatic “Palais en Ruines” (1935) demonstrates the influence of classical architecture on his painting, while “La Gare forestière” (1960) reveals his almost childlike obsession with trains, symbols of both escape and modernity. Finally, in “Chrysis” 1967), a mythological approach and a gentle eroticism converge in a masterful way.
 LEFT: Delvaux 2024. La Boverie © Tempora © dbcreation; RIGHT: Delvaux 2024. La Boverie © Tempora © dbcreation
An Eternal Tribute
More than a historical celebration, the retrospective at La Boverie invites visitors to revisit the legacy of an artist who, quietly and discreetly, created some of the 20th century’s most mysterious scenes. The harmony of his perspectives, the softness of his tones, and the power of his symbols continue to fascinate, like a dream one never wants to leave. For art lovers—and, above all, for those drawn to the mysteries of the imagination—this exhibition is a must-see and a rare opportunity to explore the many worlds of Paul Delvaux.
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