Night Train 1947

This is ‘Night Train’ by Paul Delvaux and I can’t tell you exactly when it was made, but let’s just say it has a very particular atmosphere, a way of seeing and doing things. The figures are illuminated by what looks like electric light but it’s somehow softened, as if filtered through a veil. I’m intrigued by the way Delvaux built up the surfaces in this work. He creates a sense of depth, but also disrupts it, flattening the composition with areas of repeated mark-making that feels almost obsessive. The colour scheme is very muted, almost monochrome, except for the fleshy tones of the figures. I keep coming back to the mark-making. Look closely at the surfaces, particularly in the background, and you can see how the paint has been applied in short, repetitive strokes. These marks create a sense of texture, almost like a fabric. It’s this meticulous approach to the process that makes Delvaux’s work so compelling. You might find some of that same intensity in the work of Pierre Bonnard. Both ask us to consider art as an exchange of ideas across time.