An unlikely encounter

“Le rendez-vous d'Ephèse” is a masterfully executed, fully elaborated watercolor drawing that preceded the large painting in the Paul Delvaux Museum. The scenery unfolds before our eyes as a showcase for the artist's dreamy oeuvre. The work contains all the key elements that form the essence of his extraordinary art. Delvaux managed to develop its own visual language, which is entirely unique and immediately recognizable.

In the center of the foreground, a reclining nude serves as focal point of the composition. Gazing thoughtfully into space, she determines the perspective through which we, as spectators, register the other depicted elements. She is flanked by a group of figures and a drapery that sets the scene. Zigzagging lines uncover a peculiar man wandering, a tram, and an upward flight of stairs throned by a majestic temple. The landscape fans out into the hills and disappears into the moonlit night.

Delvaux takes us on a nightly stroll in which we encounter different characters and elements interacting with each other in a particular way. For Delvaux, surrealism offers an opportunity to break away from rational logic that usually connects different elements. In his art, the relationship between objects and characters takes on a new dimension, both on a visual and on an iconographic level. An ancient temple is illuminated with street lamps. A classically posing nude is chatting with a woman in a Belle Epoque dress. Limits of time and space are crossed to create a new, original story. He creates a poetic game that is both intriguing and strange.

The setting is Ephesus, on the current Turkish West Coast. The Temple of Artemis once stood here, which is considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, being the largest temple of antiquity. Nowadays, only a few fragments bear witness to the once impressive construction, which attracted countless pilgrims and turned Ephesus into a flourishing city. Delvaux takes the ruins of this grandeur as the foundation for his anachronistic dream.