Sketchbook

1918–1994 · Virkested

Brussels

1937

First trip to Italy

Makes his first trip to Italy and returns there the next year; mermaids and seaside scenes begin to appear in his paintings. Other accounts date his trip to Italy to 1939.

July 1937

Marries Suzanne Purnal

Marries Suzanne Purnal; the artist later said it was purely a marriage of convenience.

1938

The International Surrealist Exhibition in Paris

Takes part in the International Surrealist Exhibition in Paris, organized by André Breton and Paul Éluard. Although he associates for a time with the Belgian surrealist group, he does not consider himself a Surrealist in the strict, scholastic sense of the word.

1940

The occupation of Belgium: eight days in Pas-de-Calais

When Germany invades and occupies Belgium, Delvaux retreats to Pas-de-Calais with his aunts for eight days, then returns to Brussels. He spends the war years quietly at home, continuing to paint but exhibiting nothing in Belgium.

1945

A major retrospective at the Palais des Beaux-Arts

In January a major retrospective of 57 large canvases opens at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. Public and critical reception is mixed, divided between admiration and incomprehension.