Les captives

Details

Paul Delvaux (1897-1994)
Les captives
signed and dated 'P. DELVAUX 1955.' (lower right)
pen and India ink and wash on paper
14 1/8 x 17¾ in. (35.8 x 44.9 cm.)
Executed in 1955

Provenance

Galerie Isy Brachot, Brussels.
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2001.

Special notice

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Cornelia Svedman

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Lot Essay

Charles van Deun has confirmed the authenticity of this work.

This drawing is a study for Les captives, 1955 (Butor, Clair & Houbart-Wilkin no. 221) in which the artist explores the motifs that are so riveting in the oil, a set of juxtaposed contradictions that create a dream-like, erotic atmosphere: the close, warm and intimate nudes contrasts sharply with the mysterious, cold and aggressive helmets that in the oil are completed as uniformed guards, as the relaxed 'captives' in their cushioned interior are trapped by the cold cage of the stone.

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