“The Skeletons,” created by Paul Delvaux in 1944, is an exemplary work within the Surrealism art movement. As a symbolic painting, it invokes a sense of eeriness and thoughtfulness through its imagery.
In the artwork, several skeletons are depicted in a contemporary, indoor setting, engaging in various activities. One skeleton is seated on a red chair, appearing to be caught in a moment of contemplation. Another appears positioned in a conversational stance, directing its hollow gaze towards the seated skeleton. The room, adorned with shelves filled with books and various artifacts, suggests an intellectual atmosphere. The meticulous yet unsettling rendering of the skeletons, juxtaposed with the mundane environment, elicits profound reflections on existence, mortality, and the passage of time. This contrast between life and death, the familiar and the unknown, is a quintessential characteristic of Delvaux’s surrealist vision.
