The Skeletons 1944

Curator: This is "The Skeletons," an oil painting created in 1944 by Paul Delvaux. Immediately, I'm struck by the contrast. Editor: It feels unexpectedly domestic, even mundane, for a scene featuring skeletons. It's the details that do it, like the somewhat faded red upholstery and the slightly out-of-focus musicians in the back. Curator: Delvaux was heavily influenced by Surrealism, and he often placed classical or mythical figures in dreamlike, uncanny scenarios. This painting was created during the height of World War II, and perhaps the artist is gesturing to ideas of death as ubiquitous or banal given the context. Editor: I notice how Delvaux's brushstrokes aren't trying to hide themselves, and the texture becomes its own form of visual language. It gives this an almost rough, industrial feel beneath the surface. I am compelled to examine the specific paints used here. Is this domestic paint available at the time, or some more specialised formula? Curator: Looking at it through a critical lens, I read a lot of potential social commentary. The skeletons casually inhabiting this space evoke a strong sense of collective vulnerability. Delvaux consistently explores themes of sexuality, anxiety, and existential alienation in his compositions. In this context, who are these figures inhabiting a traditionally domestic and stable scene in the home? Editor: To be sure, thinking about wartime economies—materials would have been incredibly rationed. What sacrifices did Delvaux undertake for the means to realise this work, with these paints? Curator: Delvaux painted and revisited these motifs repeatedly, and for him, the reemergence of skeletons signifies an internal language, not solely bound to any historical moment. The eerie quiet he renders in such vivid detail suggests an internalized experience of crisis. It could equally reflect our relationship to a colonialist history in Europe, as the tension around bodies emerges during times of crisis. Editor: Yes, understanding the limitations placed upon materials and processes can lead to even more layers of meaning to his painting here. A kind of skeleton that tells stories about labour. Curator: "The Skeletons" speaks volumes about our shared fragility and precarity, irrespective of the canvas they’re placed within. Editor: An intriguing piece that prompts us to consider how art and material converge to illuminate existential and social tensions, and to scrutinise not just *what* we see, but also *how* it came to be made.