“Lunar City,” created by Paul Delvaux in 1944, is an oil painting on canvas measuring 107.5 by 238 cm. This genre painting is a part of the Metaphysical art movement, characterized by its dreamlike and enigmatic atmosphere.
The artwork presents an uncanny nocturnal urban scene bathed in moonlight. Central to the composition, a skeletal figure walks along the stone-paved street, accompanied by eerily serene, partly draped and undraped female figures. The background shows classical architectural structures under the soft glow of the moon, enhancing the surreal and mysterious ambiance. The juxtaposition of the living and the skeletal, combined with the calm, statuesque demeanor of the figures, imbues the scene with a haunting yet tranquil quality typical of Delvaux’s Metaphysical style.
