Marcel Delmotte

Son of a master glazier, Marcel Delmotte studied drawing from nature in the free studio of the Université du Travail in Charleroi, where he was guided by the painter Léon Van den Houten.

Delmotte produced this painting in 1969, at the age of sixty-eight. It is the work of a seasoned and unclassifiable artist who constructed, as his oeuvre evolved, a poetic and mysterious imaginary world. The Casino in Spa hosted a retrospective for him in 1964. A realist in his early days, he was influenced by Expressionism and then Symbolism. In the 1950s, he began to develop more characteristic style, with large Symbolist frescoes depicting mysterious landscapes. In 1952, he took part in the Salon de l’Art Libre in Paris and his works were exhibited several times in the galleries of Charleroi and Brussels. His work attracted attention and he was rewarded with many prizes and honours: he was made Knight of the Order of Leopold II in 1939, while he also received the silver medal for Belgian painting; the Premier Prix de Peinture Richard Dupierreux in 1960; and the Premier Prix Chapman in 1965. 

Like other titles chosen by Delmotte for his works, On the threshold of the new era is not a didactic title dictating how this polysemic composition should be read, but an encouragement to viewers to interpret it in their own way. Although Delmotte was noted for his talents as a colourist, this panel is unique in his oeuvre for its uncompromising monochrome, which accentuates the striking textural effects created by rubbing and scratching with a knife, techniques that reflect the manner of Max Ernst.