Sale: Christie's London, 6th December 1983, lot 194
Sale: Sotheby's London, 8th December 1997. lot 21
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Executed on cream wove paper, laid down on board. All four edges are slightly unevenly cut and there are a few very small areas of paper skinning in places, one to the leftermost woman's hair and to some of the black pigments. Otherwise, this work is in overall good condition. Colours: overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue, though overall lighter and brighter in the original and the red of the cloth is slightly more orange.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Two months after he painted this gouache, Delvaux embarked on a large composition titled Les Dryades, in whﷺich he incorporated the figure seen in the present work of the nude wearing a large ornamental 🐼hat (fig. 1). Like many of Delvaux's most striking nudes, the figure has a pale colouring, otherworldly demeanour, and something of the elegant appearance of a Venus by Lucas Cranach.

In the mid-1960s, following his second visit to Greece, Delvaux began to introduce images of water and sea into his paintings, at the same time rediscovering his early passion for classical architecture. Both those elements are visible here in what is a remarkably poetic evocation of the mythical Greek nymphs known as Dryades who inhabited the forests, and whose lives were inextricably linked with the trees. It was a subject that appealed strongly to both Delvaux's sense of timelessness, and to his love of dream-like images. Barbara Emerson, writing about Les Dryades has pointed out: 'the women and the trees are but different aspects of natural beauty. It seems inevitable that they should flourish and then die together' (Barbara Emerson, Delvaux, Antwerp, 1985, p. 197).

An observation made recently by Claude Lévi-Strauss is particularly appropriate to this finely-detailed gouache: 'In Delvaux, the distant background is as clear and precise as the foreground. He constructs faultless perspectives of a fascinating complexity entirely through drawing, that is to say, through intellectual not solely emotional means' (Paul Delvaux 1897-1994 (exhibition catalogue), Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels, 1997, p. 23). Here, the eye travels back, past the wide pool of water to a wide square or piazza beyond, to be drawn even further into the distance by the parallel lines of the paving stones which converge at the edge of a group of classical arches and ga꧒teways, through which other vistas can be glimpsed.