Paul Delvaux
Blue-chip#36
Egon Investment Scores
Liquidity
8/10
How easily works can be bought and sold at auction
Institutional
9/10
Museum collections, biennials, and institutional recognition
Momentum
7/10
Recent price trends, gallery moves, and market buzz
Discovery
1/10
Undervaluation opportunity relative to peer artists
Risk
1/10
Investment risk factors — higher means more volatile
Market Position
Auction Record
$10,662,713
Le Miroir (1936)
Sotheby's London, February 3, 2016
- Liquidity
- Strong - 2,673 auction results since 1998, regular appearance at major auction houses
- Auction History
- Date
- February 3, 2016
- Work
- Le Miroir (1936)
- Price
- $10,662,713 USD
- Estimate
- £5.5-7.5 million
- Realized
- £7.317 million
- Auction House
- Sotheby's London
- Price Segments
- Prints
- $1,000 - $3,000
- Paintings
- $100,000 - $10.66 million
- Works on Paper
- $3,000 - $60,000
- Notable Recent Sales
- 2024
- Date
- December 17, 2024
- Work
- Etude de nu allongé (Danielle) (1975)
- Auction House
- Sotheby's Paris
- Date
- December 3, 2024
- Work
- Nu au hamac (1947)
- Auction House
- Artcurial
- 2025
- Date
- March 5, 2025
- Work
- Nuit de Noël (1956)
- Status
- Upcoming lot
- Auction House
- Christie's
- Recent Market Performance
- Price Range
- $8 USD to $10.66 million USD
- Total Auction Results
- 2,673 results since 1998
- Past 12 Months Average Paintings
- $2,617,960 USD
- Past 12 Months Average Works on Paper
- $17,160 USD
- Market Position
- Market Positioning
- Second-tier Belgian Surrealist after Magritte, but with strong collector base
Institutional Presence
- Exhibitions
- Venice Biennale (1954, 1968 - represented Belgium)Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam (1973)National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo and Kyoto (1975)Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris (1969)Current: 'Les Mondes de Paul Delvaux' at La Boverie, Liège (October 2024 - March 2025)
- Museum Collections
- Tier 1 Museums
- Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York - 66 works onlineMetropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkArt Institute of ChicagoTate Collection, London - owns 'Sleeping Venus' (1944)Centre Pompidou, Paris - owns 'L'Acropole'Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice
- Tier 2 Museums
- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New YorkAlbertina Museum, ViennaMuseo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, MadridCleveland Museum of ArtVictoria & Albert Museum, London
- Dedicated Museum
- Paul Delvaux Museum, Saint-Idesbald, Belgium (opened 1982) - largest collection worldwide
- Museum Acquisition Activity
- Strong historical presence, less active contemporary acquisition
Career & Biography
- Career
- 1938
- International Exposition du Surréalisme in Paris
- 1982
- Paul Delvaux Museum opens in Saint-Idesbald
- 1920-1925
- Post-Impressionist/Expressionist period, 80 paintings, first solo exhibition 1925
- 1926-1933
- Discovery of de Chirico (1926/1927), gradual evolution toward surrealism
- 1934-1941
- Mature surrealist period - participated in 'Minotaure' exhibition 1934, joint show with Magritte 1936
- 1950-1962
- Professor at École Supérieure d'Art et d'Architecture, Brussels
- 1965-1966
- President and Director of Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts
- Identity
- Birth Death
- 1897-1994 (age 96)
- Key Teachers
- Constant Montald, Jean Delville, Franz Courtens, Alfred Bastien
- Personal Relationships
- Married Suzanne Purnal 1937 (marriage of convenience), later partnered with Anne-Marie 'Tam' Beernaerts
- Artistic Context
- Key Influences
- Giorgio de Chirico, René Magritte, Jules Verne, Homer, Spitzner Museum of medical curiosities
Artistic Profile
- Influences
- Influences and Contemporaries
- Giorgio de Chirico (primary), René Magritte (contemporary), Salvador Dalí, Jules Verne literature
- Visual Language
- Often muted, moonlit scenes with precise chiaroscuro effects
- Themes and Subjects
- Signature Motifs
- Nude or semi-nude women with hypnotic staresClassical architecture and temple ruinsTrain stations and railway carriagesSkeletons in lifelike posesScientists and men in bowler hats (Jules Verne influence)
- Movements and Periods
- Late Period
- 1960-1986: Continued variations on established themes
- Early Period
- 1920-1933: Post-Impressionist landscapes and urban scenes
- Artistic Legacy
- Influenced subsequent Belgian surrealists, unique position between academic tradition and surrealism
- Mature Surrealist
- 1934-1960: Peak period with characteristic iconography
- Techniques and Mediums
- Hyperrealistic academic technique with meticulous attention to light and shadow
Critical Reception
- Critical Reception
- Recent Coverage
- The Art Newspaper, Observer, ArtDependence Magazine
- Recent article: 'Ten Out of London Exhibitions Spring 2025' - ArtLyst March 2025
- Artforum Coverage
- Featured article 'Paul Delvaux's Imagination' - praised for sensual, painterly approach versus Magritte
- Catalogue Raisonne
- No complete catalogue raisonné published
- Critical Consensus
- Recognized for unique visual language combining academic painting technique with surrealist imagery
- Academic Recognition
- Subject of multiple monographs including David Scott's 'Paul Delvaux: Surrealizing the Nude' (1992)
- Foundation Scholarship
- Paul Delvaux Foundation actively supports scholarly research
- Art Historical Position
- Key figure in Belgian Surrealism, distinct from French Surrealists
Gallery & Representation
- Fair Presence
- Regular presence at BRAFA Brussels, other European art fairs
- Representation
- Secondary Market Dealers
- Olivier Malingue, London - represents Delvaux works regularlyOpera Gallery - has featured DelvauxMARUANI MERCIER - featuring in 'Masters of Surrealism' 2025Various Belgian dealers including Harold t'Kint de Roodenbeke
- Auction House Relationships
- Strong relationships with Sotheby's, Christie's, and Phillips
- Geographic Reach
- Limited by estate, most major works in museums or established collections
This is what the market knows about Paul Delvaux. What Egon can also tell you: whether Paul Delvaux fits your portfolio — based on your existing holdings, budget, and investment timeline.
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