Le Train Bleu or La Rue Aux Tramways
Oil on board 122 by 244cm; 48 by 96in.
Painted in November 1946 Est. £2.5 - 3.5 million
Painted in November 1946, Paul Delvaux’s monumental work Le train bleu, alternatively known as La rue aux tramways, is one of the most important and remarkable paintings from the peak of his career. Although the artist was acquainted with the leading figures of the Surrealist group, including André Breton and Paul Eluard, his form of Surrealism remained unique. Capturing the modernity of the urban landscape juxtaposed with the sensuality of the nude form, this monumental work is an exceptional example of the paintings he was producing at this critical time in his oeuvre.
Replete with some of the artist's most iconic motifs, Le canapé bleu embodies Delvaux's aesthetic magnificently (est. $3.5/5 million). Luxuriating nudes play out an ambiguous narrative in the
foreground while the background provides an ineffable sense of place. The setting seems to
oscillate between a cinematic stage set, a domestic space and a train station. The train -
an element that appears in many of Delvaux's works - is only hinted at through the tunnel and red light at the upper left corner of the composition. The viewer is left with an eerie
feeling of erotic anticipation and excitement - a sensibility that pervades many of his earlier compositions as well, including
Les cariatides from 1946, sold by Sotheby’s in May 2011.
Sotheby's 2015
Paul Delvaux
LOT SOLD. 60,000 GBPSotheby's 2014
LOT SOLD. 80,500 GB
Les Mains
PRICE REALIZED
$6,578,500
Le nu et le mannequin (Le nu au mannequin)
PRICE REALIZED
£3,401,250
Le vicinal
PRICE REALIZED
£2,729,250
Ecce homo (La descente de croix)
PRICE REALIZED
£1,721,250
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Jeunes filles à la campagne
PRICE REALIZED
£1,609,250
Le temple
PRICE REALIZED
£1,609,250
Le passage à niveau
PRICE REALIZED
$1,538,500
Le sacrifice d'Iphigénie
PRICE REALIZED
$1,314,500
Le rendez-vous d'Ephèse
PRICE REALIZED
£657,250
La veillée
PRICE REALIZED
£580,000
Faubourg
PRICE REALIZED
$485,000
Les demoiselles de Tongres
PRICE REALIZED
£289,250