Paul Delvaux, born in 1897 in the Belgian province of Liege, gave the world another look at the goddess as she sleeps. A surrealist who is famous for painting female nudes, Delvaux studied Greek and Latin at a young age and was influenced by Jules Verne and Homer.
Delvaux studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels in architecture but took painting classes. His first solo exhibition was in 1925.
Delvaux is famous for his female nudes and their surreal surroundings which include skeletons, night scenes, and odd characters in the background. Venus Asleep is no different.
Painted in 1944, the painting depicts Venus asleep in an open air courtyard, being watched over by a skeleton and a dress mannequin and being mourned, as if dead, by four nude women. Venus, herself, is nude as she lays on an gold ornate chassis. Her pose shows exhaustion as she seems tired from spreading love around the world.
Her surroundings are that of a Roman square with columns, marble and tile work as this square or deserted town is surrounded by a large mountain range in a dark night with a sliver of moon in the sky. The light shown down on the scene shows the calm but fearful seen as death is present (the skeleton) in a peaceful night with the goddess sleeping. The women present, possibly servants, have looks of despair as they cry to the sky or cry in their hands. They wish not to wake Venus but they still cry in despair over love lost or the presence of death in the form of the skeleton.
The sleeping form of Venus is an art subject has been interpreted through many movements and by many artists. The view of the goddess as always been on of beauty and serenity but love is never so serene or calm.
It’s been so long since I’ve done a post! A little rusty but I’ll get back to it.
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