The Lustre 1952

Paul Delvaux created The Lustre, with oil on canvas, and the image shimmers with pale light. I can imagine Delvaux carefully layering each colour to create the otherworldly glow. There are moments of soft naturalism and then weirdness. Figures are placed in a dream logic, and have a photographic quality, yet it's definitely painting. Maybe he was thinking about painting history when he made this. A tableau of the nude, for example, but the figures are turned away from the viewer. The woman in bed has the posture of many reclining nudes but something is very different. The light reflects off their bodies, and the chandelier – casting shadows in a place that feels both real and unreal.