Focus on Procession in Lace and explore the Analysis and reception.
Procession in Lace was one of the first of Paul Delvaux's painting to show the influence of Giorgio de Chirico, and it thus set out the direction Delvaux would take for the rest of his career. This involved placing unusual objects side by side and adhering to a poetic logic. Chirico was also a major influence for the surrealists and Delvaux's relationship to this group was complicated. Delvaux said he had become "liberated" by passing through surrealism but that he was not a natural surrealist; the art historian Maurice Debra says "the delightful Procession in Lace" was his "true liberation".The art historian Virginie Devillers contrasts Procession in Lace with Delvaux's earlier, expressionist paintings, writing that their fairground aesthetics and unelegant women have been replaced by gesturing women remeniscent of wax dolls and mannequins, wearing dresses that could be inspired by fashion magazines or garments belonging by Delvaux's aunts. Devillers calls it Delvaux's "first accomplished staging". The art historian Michel Draguet says Procession in Lace was one of Delvaux's first "major compositions" and interprets the use of classical elements in this and paintings such as The Pink Knots (1937) as expressions of Delvaux's awareness of catastrophic threat in Europe. Draguet says the combination of mystery and theatricality "probably" should be understood as an attempt at "domestication through beauty of a chaos that is pacified through ritual". Nathalia Brodskaïa says the "peaceful, ceremonious moment" depicted in Procession in Lace creates a secret in the painting, despite not containing any action that stands out as special.
Giorgio de Chirico classical surrealists Paul Delvaux expressionist Lace Michel Draguet wax dolls lace mannequin