All the lights 1962

Paul Delvaux painted 'All the Lights' with oil on canvas, the date is unknown. This eerie street scene invites questions about the social and cultural contexts that shaped it. Delvaux was Belgian and the orderly red brick architecture suggests a Northern European setting. Painted sometime in the twentieth century, the scene is lit by modern electric streetlights and antique oil lamps, the co-existence suggests a tension between modernity and tradition. The female figures, unnaturally posed and dressed in antiquated lace dresses, evoke an unsettling psychological atmosphere. Were these women a comment on the changing role of women in European society? Delvaux was associated with Surrealism, a movement born in the aftermath of the First World War, which questioned rational thought. Delvaux's unsettling imagery invites us to consider the political and social upheavals of 20th-century Europe. Understanding the social history of the time can shed light on this work. We can delve deeper through archival research, and explore period writings and cultural criticism. Ultimately, the meaning of this painting is entwined with the complex history of its time.