Gazette Drouot - C apencheres

THE MAGAZINE UPCOMING AUCTIONS
The legendary journey of Paul Delvaux
Knokke-le-Zoute is the "little Belgian
Saint-Trop", one of the most fashionable
bathing resorts in Northern Europe, and
a town also known for its celebrated
casino. In the middle of the 20th century,
international artists like Piaf, Aznavour and Brel
performed there, as well as top black American musicians
like Lionel Hampton and Ella Fitzgerald. To
decorate and modernise their casino, the Nellens,
father and son, who owned the premises at the time,
called upon a number of well-known artists. Gustave
Nellens, the patriarch nicknamed the "master of
festivities" in Knokke-le-Zoute, was a keen art lover
and collector, and supported the Surrealists, buying
many of their works. In 1953, he asked René Magritte
to paint a decorative composition entitled
"Le Domaine enchanté". In 1974, Jacques, who took
over after his father's death, asked Paul Delvaux to
USEFUL INFO
Where ? Paris - Drouot
When ? 10 December
Who ? Gros & Delettrez auction house. Mr Chanoit
How much ? €2/3M
See the catalogue : www.gazette-drouot.com
28 GAZETTE DROUOT INTERNATIONAL I N° 19
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produce a huge composition originally intended for
the casino in Chaudfontaine, but which finally went
to the one at Knokke-le-Zoute. The painter already
featured in the Gustave J. Nellens collection: "La
Dame à la fleur", "Les Nymphes se baignant", "Les
Courtisanes" and "Galatée" were shown in the
Musée d'Art et d'Industrie at Saint-Etienne in 1972,
in the exhibition "Les Peintres belges et les surréalistes
dans la collection Gustave J. Nellens". For the
casino, Delvaux dreamed up "Voyage légendaire", a
work measuring 13 by 4.40 metres, whose produc-