Marcel Delmotte

MARCEL DELMOTTE (Belgium, 1901 - 1984).
"Silhouettes", 1957.
Ink and collage on paper.
Signed and dated in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 36.5 x 26 cm; 57 x 46 cm (frame).

Old masters such as Piero della Francesca, Caravaggio, Poussin and David were key early influences on Marcel Delmotte. Although he kept abreast of contemporary artistic trends, he downplayed his interaction with them. However, the metaphysical landscapes of Giorgio de Chirico and the surrealist works of René Magritte, Max Ernst and Salvador Dalí are clear sources of inspiration in his exploration of dream states and alternate realities.

Delmotte was a Belgian painter and draughtsman of Christian religious scenes, still lifes, portraits and nudes. The son of a glassblower, he developed his entire career in the Belgian region of Charleroi and Hainaut. Although he was a self-proclaimed autodidact, he trained briefly at the Université de Travail in Charleroi (1914-1919) before working as a decorator, painting imitation marble and wood grain. Delmotte always emphasized his artisanal origins and independent path, claiming that his true apprenticeship came from independent study of nature, plaster casts and the golden section.

Delmotte was a well-known and successful artist on the Belgian and European art scene, with numerous exhibitions. His most notable exhibitions were "L'Humanite en Marche" (1969) and a retrospective (1976), both with the Isy Brachot Gallery in Brussels, although his work was also exhibited in Turin, New York and Tokyo.

Perhaps because he preferred to stay out of the media spotlight and politics, and because of his own reluctance to discuss the details of his life, verifiable facts about Delmotte's career are scarce. The artist resisted any categorization, especially as a surrealist, stating that "The 'ism' is a cheap way of giving oneself a personality."

In his work, marble figures recall the structure of Piero della Francesca and David, while his jewel tones and microscopic details evoke Netherlandish painting. His nudes, often macabre and erotic, link him to the Belgian Symbolist traditions of Félicien Rops and Fernand Khnopff. Delmotte made no secret of his reliance on these traditional resources, but used them to address enduring concepts about the human condition. At a time when the avant-garde was subverting classical subjects, Delmotte celebrated the manual act of painting, reinventing traditional themes from mythology, the Bible, and literature with an idiosyncrasy that defies simple classification.

Delmotte's technical mastery is evident, often working on a monumental scale, which he believed offered him greater expressive freedom. His paintings, even the most disturbing, engage the viewer with their detailed and subtle technique, demonstrating that for Delmotte, manual art was an essential and relevant means of exploring the human experience. His canvases remain as elusive and inscrutable as their author himself.