保羅·德沃爾

P. G. Van Hecke-Norine, Brussels
Gustave J. Nellens, Knokke-Le Zoute
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1993

Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Paul Delvaux, 1944-45, no. 22
Oostende, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Paul Delvaux, 1962, no. 15
Geneva, Galerie Krugier, Rétrospective Paul Delvaux, 1966, no. 5
Brussels, Musée d'Ixelles, Paul Delvaux, 1967, no. 9
Ferrara, Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna, Cento anni di pittura belga (Collection Gustave J. Nellens), 1970, no. 101, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Bordeaux, Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Surréalisme, 1971, no. 55
Paris, Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Peintres de l'imaginaire. Symbolistes et surréalistes belges, 1972, no. 88, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Knokke-Heist, Casino, Hommage à Gustave J. Nellens, 1972, no. 22, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Saint-Etienne, Musée d'Art et d'Industrie, Les Peintres belges et les surréalistes dans la collection Gustave J. Nellens, 1972, no. 10
Knokke-Heist, Casino, Paul Delvaux, 1973, no. 15, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
New York, The New York Cultural Center & Houston, The Museum of Fine Arts, Painters of the Mind's Eye. Belgian Symbolists and Surrealists, 1974, no. 74, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Mexico, Museo de Arte Moderno, Tres Maestros de la Imaginacion. Ensor, Magritte, Delvaux. El Surrealismo en Belgica y su antecedente, 1974, no. 36
Osaka, Daimaru Museum of Art (and travelling in Japan), Paul Delvaux, 1989-90, no. 20, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Palais, Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Paul Delvaux. Peintures, dessins 1922-1982, 1991, no. 21, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Oostende, Von Ensor tot Delvaux, 1996
Florence, Comune di Firenze, Paul Delvaux, 1998
Madrid, Fundación Juan March, Delvaux, 1998, no. 15, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Tokyo, Isetan Museum of Art; Osaka, Daimaru Museum & Okazaki, Okazaki City Mindscape Museum, Ensor to Delvaux, 2000-01

Paul-Aloïse De Bock, Paul Delvaux, Brussels, 1967, no. 47, illustrated in colour p. 107
J. P., 'Peintres de l'imaginaire. Symbolistes et Surréalistes belges à Paris', in La Libre Belgique, Brussels, 11th February 1972
André Fermigier, 'Exposition. Explorateurs de l'imaginaire. Des peintres que l'injustice de l'histoire et les frontières culturelles nous avaient longtemps un peu dissimulés', in Le Nouvel Observateur, Paris, no. 379, 14th-20th February 1972, p. 45
Michel Butor, Jean Clair & Suzanne Houbart-Wilkin, Delvaux, Brussels, 1975, no. 112, illustrated p. 192
Barbara Emerson, Delvaux, Antwerp, 1985, illustrated in colour p. 107

The canvas is wax lined. There are some scattered spots and lines of retouching throughout the canvas, visible under ultra-violet light. Apart from some very slight hairline craquelure in the centre, this work is in good stable condition. Colours: Fairly accurate in the printed catalogue illustration, although the colours are overall less warm and brighter in the original.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Painted in 1941, Les Courtisanes is an exceptional example of Paul Delvaux's painting; as in many of his finest compositions, it combines the motif of mysterious female nudes placed against a classically-inspired architectural backdrop. Depicting the figures on a balcony by the sea, dominated by the large sky, this work evokes an idyllic Mediterranean setting, a departure from Delvaux's enclosed piazzas and suburban motifs.

While his compositions often defy meaning, Delvaux provides a clue since the nudes and semi-nudes that we see before us in the guise of bathers by the sea are no doubt the courtesans referred to in the title of the work. The courtesan was traditionally a member of the Royal court, whose role was that of a paramour for the court's members. Often used in his compositions, the image of a courtesan was imbued with certain associations which delighted the artist, especially those of eroticism and the evocation of a courtly setting in a bygone age. In the present work, this evocation is effective and accurate, set in a Roman or Byzantine court, with the courtesans in various states of undress, engaged in different activities. They have varied head-dresses, an indication perhaps of differing hierarchy. In the background, at the water's edge, a rare feature in Delvaux's œuvre: a temporary pavilion has been erected, of the type that was used for provisional outdoor events, such as jousting. Its role in the present work could be seen to be that of a bather's cabin.

The importance of the imagined architectural setting was paramount for Delvaux. He was certainly aware of the ancient connection made between the column and the human form, and David Scott has pointed out how Delvaux's early mastery of architectural drawing played an all-important role in the development of his imagery: 'Delvaux uses perspective to establish a tension between nude and background, in which these elements combine, becoming charged with erotic energy. In transmitting its electricity along the lines of perspective with which it is juxtaposed, the nude body eroticizes its environment; the viewer of a work, while absorbed by the desirable objects in the foreground of the picture, is nevertheless enticed by the perspectival lines to look through or beyond them.' (D. Scott, Paul Delvaux: Surrealizing the Nude, London, 1992, p. 103).

As in so many of Delvaux's compositions, the deep perspective in the present work allows a glimpse of a world beyond that is like a distant echo of the one being played out in front of us. However, as Gisèle Ollinger-Zinque has observed, the real essence of Delvaux's compositions are the women: 'The Delvaux woman is not just any woman: she is sphinx-like, having no past and no future. She is fixed in her immobility, indifferent to the people around her; she waits for something that does not happen and will never happen' (G. Ollinger-Zinque, 'The making of a painter-poet', in Paul Delvaux, Brussels, 1997, p. 22).

For all its originality, Delvaux's art shows a remarkable affinity with the work of other painters and artistic schools. In much of his work he marries influences of mannerist rendering of the female body, which originated as a reaction against the humanistic conventions established during the Renaissance, on one side, and the rendering of perspective favoured by the Renaissance, on the other. As in Les Courtisanes, he delights in constructing lavish piazzas to populate with his nudes: he uses clean horizontal and vertical lines to replicate the simplicity and purity of classical architecture, while the lines of the floor tiles diminishing into the distance refer to the treatment of perspective as developed by Renaissance masters.

More importantly, however, the present work demonstrates the influence on Delvaux of Cézanne, for whom the nude was also a motif of fundamental importance. Indeed, both in the composition, spacing and individual poses of the nudes, and in the overall concept of a bathing scene, Delvaux borrows directly from an important work by the great Post-Impressionist master, Cinq baigneuses sous des arbres (fig. 2). Undoubtedly, Delvaux is indebted to Cézanne for both the monumentality of his bathers and for the manner in which their bodies find echoes in the trees spaced around, just like Delvaux proposes visual links between his nudes and their architectural surroundings.