“The Tunnel,” created by Paul Delvaux in 1978, is a genre painting executed in oil on canvas, emblematic of the Surrealism art movement. Measuring 150 by 240 centimeters, the artwork presents a captivating tableau that embodies Delvaux’s unique artistic vision.
In the artwork, women dressed in 19th-century attire inhabit a nocturnal, dreamlike setting. At the foreground, they are seen in varying poses, with one woman gazing pensively into an ornate, full-length mirror, reflecting a young girl in period attire. The background reveals a meticulously detailed urban landscape featuring a winding staircase and an arched train tunnel with a train approaching from the depths. The scene is interspersed with numerous figures, some clothed and others unclothed, engaged in various silent activities, imbuing the work with a sense of enigmatic narrative and a hauntingly serene ambiance. Delvaux’s characteristic attention to architectural elements and human form blend seamlessly to evoke a surreal, timeless world within this painting.
