The Focus Tombs 1957

Paul Delvaux made this large oil on canvas painting, The Focus Tombs, in a palette of mostly pale, muted tones, punctuated by darker shades to give it a haunting, otherworldly feel. You can see in the smoothness of the surface that he thinned the paint to achieve a matte finish. I can almost feel the stillness and silence that Delvaux must have imagined while making this painting. What might he have been thinking about, looking at skeletons and tombs? He’s like a poet composing a verse! The way he arranged the bones, posed in different positions, like actors in a play, is deeply odd. The painting looks classical, but also surreal, a bit like De Chirico! Think about it: artists are constantly referencing, reacting to, and reimagining the art that came before them. Delvaux might have wanted to suggest that, although art can be creepy and macabre, it can be a powerful and expressive medium for exploring mortality and the human condition. He invites us to confront our fears and contemplate our existence through his unique vision.