Paul Delvaux is a Belgian artist who, from childhood, under the influence of a domineering mother, developed a special attitude towards women.

Paul Delvaux (September 23, 1897 – July 20, 1994) – the famous Belgian artist of the twentieth century, a prominent representative of surrealism. He was famous for painting nude paintings. The main characters of his paintings were most often naked women, radiating calmness and detachment from the outside world.

Paul Delvaux did not consider himself a surrealist and did not maintain friendly relations with other masters of this style. But he was an ardent supporter of metaphysical art. He had great respect for the work of the founder of this direction of painting, Giorgio de Chirico.

Biography

Paul Delvaux was born on September 23, 1897 in the village of Ante. The father of the future artist was a successful capital lawyer and a very good-natured person. He dreamed that his firstborn would also become a lawyer.

The boy was raised by his mother, who was distinguished by an authoritarian character and did not tolerate objections from children. Under her influence, Paul Delvaux developed a respectful attitude towards women, which remained until the end of his life. It was the mother who noticed her son’s ability to art. She insisted that he enter the Royal Academy of Arts in the Faculty of Architecture.

But Paul was not destined to become a great architect. He was given the exact sciences with great difficulty, and after the first year, Delvo dropped out of school. The young man firmly decided to become an artist after Franz Kurtens accidentally saw his landscapes. The famous Belgian painter persuaded his parents that the boy continued his studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts.

Under the guidance of professors Constant Montal and Alfred Bastien, the talented young man achieved brilliant success in his studies. With the permission of his parents, in 1924, Paul set up a workshop in a spacious house, and the following year, the first solo exhibition of his works was held in the Belgian capital. At the initial stage of his career, the artist mainly worked in the landscape genre.

Artist’s personal life

In 1929, Paul met a girl named Anne-Marie de Mertelard and they fell in love. But the artist’s mother categorically did not like the choice of her son and she forced him to part with her beloved. Delvaux dutifully complied and set about painting in his studio.

On New Year’s Eve 1933, Paul’s mother died, and he was finally able to escape from the care of this all-powerful woman. And in January 1937, the artist’s father died. After that, Delvaux gained complete independence and inherited the state of his parents. Unexpectedly for others, in July of the same year, the painter married Suzanne Purnal, with whom he lived for more than ten years. Later, the master often told his friends that it was a marriage of convenience.

Paul Delvaux spent the years of the German occupation in seclusion in his own house, painting. In 1945, a large-scale retrospective of his work took place in Brussels, which aroused great interest among the Belgian public. After that, the artist began to receive many letters with proposals for organizing solo exhibitions. The heyday of his professional career began, which lasted several decades.

First love and the last years of the artist’s life.

In the summer of 1947, the painter accidentally met his first love on the street and his long-standing feelings flared up with renewed vigor. He divorced his wife and married Anne-Marie de Mertelard, with whom he later lived for almost 40 years in a happy marriage.

Since the late 1940s, the life of Paul Delvaux proceeded calmly and measuredly. He painted with enthusiasm, took part in exhibitions. He also received prestigious awards and gradually became a very respected master of world art. Together with his wife, they lived for many years in the village of Saint-Idesbald, occasionally coming to Brussels on business.

In 1984, Paul Delvaux moved to the town of Fournes and spent the rest of his life here. He painted the last picture two years later, after which he limited himself to creating drawings. And after the death of his wife in December 1989, the master completely retired from other work. Paul Delvaux died on July 20, 1994 in Fournes at the age of 96 and was buried in the local cemetery next to his beloved wife.