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Dealer: Big Sky Fine Art
Location: Dorset, United Kingdom
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Paul Delvaux 1897 - 1994. Belgian. La Belle Anna, La Port De Cannes, 1930. Watercolour

$20,000 or Make an Offer (approx conversion from £15895)

Code: AB135228

Dimensions:W: 84.5cm  (33.3")H: 60.5cm  (23.8")D: 2cm  (0.8")

Website: https://www.antiquesboutique.com/maritime-ships-sailing/paul-delvaux-1897---1994-belgian-la-belle-anna-la-port-de-cannes-1930-watercolour/itm135228

Paul Delvaux. 
Belgian ( b.1897 - d.1994 ).
La Belle Anna, La Port De Cannes, 1930
Watercolour, Bodycolour & Pastel on Woven Paper.
Signed & dated 1930 lower left.
Image size 15.7 inches x 25.8 inches ( 40cm x 65.5cm ).
Frame size 23.8 inches x 33.3 inches ( 60.5cm x 84.5cm ).

Available for sale from Big Sky Fine Art in the English county of Dorset, this original painting by the Belgian artist Paul Delvaux dated 1930.
The painting is presented and supplied in a sympathetic contemporary frame (which is shown in these photographs), mounted using conservation materials and behind non-reflective Tru Vue UltraVue® UV70 glass.
This vintage watercolour is in very good condition, commensurate with its age. The paper surface has been cleaned on our instruction, supervision and approval. The painting is ready to hang and display.
The watercolour is signed and dated lower left.
On the reverse of the woven paper is a pencil drawing of a street scene featuring several human figures and buildings by Paul Delvaux.
Provenance: Christie's, London, 29 March 1988, lot 398. Sale title - Impressionist and Modern Watercolours and Drawings and Contemporary Art.  

The Belgian artist Paul Delvaux was one of the most important creators of 20th century imaginary surrealism, with his work combining both modernist and classical features. He has been called a painter of poems and dreams. His style developed over the years, with figurative work dominating his output. His best-known works often featured women, classical architecture, trains, railway stations and skeletons and explores themes of life, death and beauty. 

His style developed over his long career, taking a novel direction in the tradition of ‘poetic shock’. As Delvaux’s career had developed in the shadow of Nazi Germany, it is perhaps not surprising that his post-war work is known for its sense of anxiety and unease, although not expressed in overtly political subjects.

Delvaux has a significant history of international exhibition and recognition. He was recognized with many honors and appointments in his later life. Beginning in the 1950s, Delvaux executed a number of huge mural commissions which contributed greatly to the public art of Belgium.
The Paul Delvaux Foundation, created in 1974 with the approval of the King of Belgium houses the world’s largest collection of his original works and leads research projects.
Although his career spanned over 60 years Delvaux only released around 450 paintings. Today Delvaux’s work is collected by numerous institutions around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, and the Tate Gallery, London. 

© Big Sky Fine Art

This original 1930 painting by Paul Delvaux is created in mixed media of watercolour, bodycolour and pastel on woven paper. It is a very stylish piece, created in smooth flowing lines and demonstrates excellent use of light. It features a small wooden boat, painted pale blue on the underside and white on top, with the name ‘La Belle Anna’ on the side. The vessel has a single mast with a loose sail in bold stripes of orange, yellow and white. There is a single male figure in the boat, attending to the sail. The boat is one of half a dozen or so similar vessels moored in the harbour at La Port De Cannes. There is a larger commercial ship on the horizon, a wisp of smoke emerging from hits funnel. The overall palette is of warm golden hues from the sun and cool blues from the ocean. It perfectly captures the ambiance of a summer’s afternoon, just messing around in small boats. 

It is interesting that the warm, relaxed painting we offer here, depicting a boat called ‘La Belle Anna’ coincides with the happy period of his life when the artist was first acquainted with the love of his life, Anne-Marie (see the full biography on our website). This early work has an ease and harmony not typical of the style later developed by Delvaux and for which he is better known. 

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