Sketchbook

1918–1994 · Wirkungsort

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

An international exhibition in Mexico City

His works are shown at an international exhibition in Mexico City organized by Breton and Paalen.

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.