Phases of the Moon 1939

Curator: This is "Phases of the Moon," an oil on canvas from 1939 by the Belgian artist Paul Delvaux, currently residing at MoMA. What are your immediate thoughts? Editor: Eerily classical. It possesses a strange calm, but there is an inescapable theatrical quality. The hard edges and defined forms seem almost staged. Curator: The juxtaposition of classicism and surrealism is typical for Delvaux. Notice the precise, almost photographic rendering of the figures against the dreamlike backdrop. This conflict is fundamental to his aesthetic. Editor: Absolutely. The perspectival construction is quite insistent, yet the assembly of figures makes no logical sense. How does Delvaux intend we decode these arrangements? Curator: Semiotically, the symbols oscillate: the nudes perhaps allude to purity or the primordial, but the juxtaposition of the bow on one, next to the skull placed so deliberately, introduces questions about cultural tropes surrounding women. Editor: And contextually, this was created just before World War II. Is the juxtaposition in any way alluding to or embodying societal fractures in Europe at this time? What's the importance of the costuming or lack thereof? Curator: The incongruity is what drives the symbolic interpretation. This painting seems to embody the unease of the era; it’s certainly a response to shifting social dynamics with clear echoes of art from earlier epochs. The architecture, landscape and celestial mechanics all evoke distinct classical lineages while forming this bizarre juxtaposition. Editor: This really provides a way of thinking about the past, through a critical lens from a volatile and changing society. A method of reframing conventions? Curator: Exactly. Delvaux’s personal anxieties mirrored a societal crisis, revealing latent connections among seemingly disparate structures of time. Editor: A potent piece, prompting us to consider how art grapples with history and shapes the present. Curator: Indeed. Through precise rendering and carefully chosen iconography, Delvaux constructs a narrative that remains compellingly unresolved.