Delvaux, Paul (1897-1994), Belgian painter, whose dreamlike images of entranced figures in imaginary landscapes are characterized by deep, sometimes nonrational space; an eerie, unnatural light; and figures that draw on classical models yet appear intentionally stiff or naive. The figures, typically female nudes, seem to be sleepwalking: present, but in a kind of trance. Their glowing bodies and the world they inhabit both seduce and disturb. In The Spitzner Museum (1943, Musée d’Art Wallon, Liège, Belgium), a partially clothed woman with her eyes closed enters a classically styled building, while a skeleton, a naked boy, and a group of older men in suits look on.

Born in Antheit, Belgium, Delvaux studied architecture at the Académie des Beaux-Arts (Academy of Fine Arts) in Brussels in 1916 and 1917 and began taking art classes at night in 1920, after completing his military service. At first, Delvaux painted forested landscapes in a realistic style, but he began to develop his mature style in 1926, after seeing the haunting cityscapes of Italian painter Giorgio de Chirico.

Members of the surrealist movement, which sought to tap into dreams and subconscious processes, influenced Delvaux as well, and he exhibited with them during the 1930s and 1940s. For inspiration he also looked to artists as diverse as Italian Renaissance painter Piero della Francesca, French neoclassical painter J. A. D. Ingres, and Belgian expressionist James Ensor.

In addition to paintings on canvas, Delvaux designed sets for dance, film, and theater productions, including Adame Miroir (1947), a ballet by French dramatist Jean Genet. His public commissions include murals for the Palais des Congrès in Brussels (1960) and for the Institute of Zoology at the University of Liège in Belgium (1960).
From 1950 until 1962, Delvaux taught painting at the École Nationale Superieure d’Art et d’Architecture in Brussels, and in 1965 he was named director of Belgium’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts. A museum dedicated to Delvaux’s work opened in Saint-Idesbald, Belgium, in 1982.