Robert Detheux (1932-2010) - Portrait féminin spectral
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Robert Detheux — Portrait féminin spectral, mixed media on paper, 51 × 39.5 cm, 1978, Belgium, signed and dated Detheux 78, original edition, good condition.
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Description from the seller
Robert Detheux (1932-2010)
Spectral Female Portrait – 1978
Artist: Robert Detheux (Brussels, 1932 – Tournai, 2010)
Title of the work: Spectral Female Portrait
Date: 1978
Signed and dated “Detheux 78” at the bottom left.
Technique:
Painting (mixed media: thick whites, scumbling, scratching, drips, graphite highlights) on paper. The artist builds the figure from the material itself: impasto, reserves, craters and vertical drippings that turn the support into almost sculptural relief.
Dimensions: 51 × 39.5 cm
Condition:
Very good overall condition. Beautiful preservation of the contrasts between milky whites, grays, and the texture accidents. The drips, holes, scratches, and brushstrokes are entirely intentional by the artist. No loss or tear visible.
Sold unframed.
Signature:
Signed and dated “Detheux 78” at the bottom left.
Provenance:
Artist’s studio collection (acquired directly).
Description:
A rare painting from 1978, all in whites and grays. In the upper part of the sheet, a female portrait appears — profile, slightly tilted, like an apparition caught in the material.
The forehead, brow, the line of the nose, and the mass of the hair are legible in the impastos, never drawn with a line.
The body of the work is a large white form, pierced, striped, almost lunar. Craters open in the paste; vertical drips descend toward the bottom of the sheet like rain or a veil. Around it, broad circular brushstrokes envelop the figure and isolate it in a floating space.
What one initially believes to be abstraction becomes, with careful looking, a face. What one believes is a face dissolves again into the matter. This oscillation is typically Detheuxian: the female body is not represented as such, it emerges — and withdraws.
The texture work is virtuoso. Thick whites, scumbling, scratching, and drippings give the illusion of a bas-relief or carved plaster, while everything is painted. Depending on the light, the portrait advances or recedes, vibrates, and slightly doubles.
This piece belongs to the 1970s period, that of sensual explorations of the body and the female face, already oriented toward appearance and secrecy.
Generous format, rarity of this exclusively light-toned palette, exceptional visual density: a mature work that will appeal to collectors of Belgian surrealist art sensitive to themes of veil, material, and appearance.
Artist Biography
Born in Brussels in 1932 and passed away in 2010, Robert Detheux is a singular, demanding, and deeply endearing figure in 20th-century Belgian art.
A graduate of the Saint-Luc Institute and the Beaux-Arts in Brussels, he taught graphic expression at the Academy of Tournai until 1996, while developing a personal body of work of great coherence and remarkable freedom.
His artistic trajectory unfolds in several major phases:
• In the 1950s–1960s, he asserted a powerful surrealist and expressionist language, marked by intense portraits and dreamlike compositions.
• In the 1970s, he sensually and obsessively explored the theme of the body and the female face, developing hybrid figures and highly elaborate textures.
• The 1980s–1990s saw the emergence of a more hybrid and grotesque universe, blending erotism, black humor, and poetry.
• Finally, the 2000–2010 period, especially sought after today, represents a total maturity: spectral portraits, appearances, hybrid figures executed with exceptional mastery.
Little shown during his lifetime, Robert Detheux freely created a private, subversive, and poetic universe that belongs only to him.
Rediscovered in recent years thanks to the emergence of his substantial studio archive (nearly 1,500 works on paper), his work today enjoys a legitimate and growing interest among discerning collectors in Belgium, Spain, and Europe.
A master of drawing, Detheux left an authentic, vibrant, and timeless oeuvre that continues to surprise and captivate with its evocative power, deep humanity, and modernity. Collecting Detheux is to enter a unique dreamlike world, populated by hybrid figures and waking dreams.
Seller's Story
About SR Fine Art
With nearly 28 years of experience in the art market, I am passionate about rediscovering artists’ studios and bringing their works to a wide audience on Catawiki.
I specialize in Belgian and European modern and contemporary art. My flagship collection is the studio archive of Robert Detheux (nearly 1,500 works on paper). I also offer surrealist drawings, beautiful abstract paintings from the 1950s, magnificent nude photographs by Michel Pinel, contemporary paintings, Cobra compositions, and works by Marcus de Vestele, Gundi Falk, René Mels, Eugène Eechaut and many others.
From intimate drawings to large formats, there is something for every taste and every budget. The vast majority of my auctions start at 1 € with no reserve price, giving everyone the chance to acquire unique pieces.
Every shipment is prepared with the utmost care using professional museum-quality packaging to ensure perfect condition upon arrival.
Join my growing community of satisfied clients and follow my new auctions to discover rare works from these exceptional studios.
Thank you for your trust and happy bidding!
SR Fine Art
Translated by Google TranslateRobert Detheux (1932-2010)
Spectral Female Portrait – 1978
Artist: Robert Detheux (Brussels, 1932 – Tournai, 2010)
Title of the work: Spectral Female Portrait
Date: 1978
Signed and dated “Detheux 78” at the bottom left.
Technique:
Painting (mixed media: thick whites, scumbling, scratching, drips, graphite highlights) on paper. The artist builds the figure from the material itself: impasto, reserves, craters and vertical drippings that turn the support into almost sculptural relief.
Dimensions: 51 × 39.5 cm
Condition:
Very good overall condition. Beautiful preservation of the contrasts between milky whites, grays, and the texture accidents. The drips, holes, scratches, and brushstrokes are entirely intentional by the artist. No loss or tear visible.
Sold unframed.
Signature:
Signed and dated “Detheux 78” at the bottom left.
Provenance:
Artist’s studio collection (acquired directly).
Description:
A rare painting from 1978, all in whites and grays. In the upper part of the sheet, a female portrait appears — profile, slightly tilted, like an apparition caught in the material.
The forehead, brow, the line of the nose, and the mass of the hair are legible in the impastos, never drawn with a line.
The body of the work is a large white form, pierced, striped, almost lunar. Craters open in the paste; vertical drips descend toward the bottom of the sheet like rain or a veil. Around it, broad circular brushstrokes envelop the figure and isolate it in a floating space.
What one initially believes to be abstraction becomes, with careful looking, a face. What one believes is a face dissolves again into the matter. This oscillation is typically Detheuxian: the female body is not represented as such, it emerges — and withdraws.
The texture work is virtuoso. Thick whites, scumbling, scratching, and drippings give the illusion of a bas-relief or carved plaster, while everything is painted. Depending on the light, the portrait advances or recedes, vibrates, and slightly doubles.
This piece belongs to the 1970s period, that of sensual explorations of the body and the female face, already oriented toward appearance and secrecy.
Generous format, rarity of this exclusively light-toned palette, exceptional visual density: a mature work that will appeal to collectors of Belgian surrealist art sensitive to themes of veil, material, and appearance.
Artist Biography
Born in Brussels in 1932 and passed away in 2010, Robert Detheux is a singular, demanding, and deeply endearing figure in 20th-century Belgian art.
A graduate of the Saint-Luc Institute and the Beaux-Arts in Brussels, he taught graphic expression at the Academy of Tournai until 1996, while developing a personal body of work of great coherence and remarkable freedom.
His artistic trajectory unfolds in several major phases:
• In the 1950s–1960s, he asserted a powerful surrealist and expressionist language, marked by intense portraits and dreamlike compositions.
• In the 1970s, he sensually and obsessively explored the theme of the body and the female face, developing hybrid figures and highly elaborate textures.
• The 1980s–1990s saw the emergence of a more hybrid and grotesque universe, blending erotism, black humor, and poetry.
• Finally, the 2000–2010 period, especially sought after today, represents a total maturity: spectral portraits, appearances, hybrid figures executed with exceptional mastery.
Little shown during his lifetime, Robert Detheux freely created a private, subversive, and poetic universe that belongs only to him.
Rediscovered in recent years thanks to the emergence of his substantial studio archive (nearly 1,500 works on paper), his work today enjoys a legitimate and growing interest among discerning collectors in Belgium, Spain, and Europe.
A master of drawing, Detheux left an authentic, vibrant, and timeless oeuvre that continues to surprise and captivate with its evocative power, deep humanity, and modernity. Collecting Detheux is to enter a unique dreamlike world, populated by hybrid figures and waking dreams.
Seller's Story
About SR Fine Art
With nearly 28 years of experience in the art market, I am passionate about rediscovering artists’ studios and bringing their works to a wide audience on Catawiki.
I specialize in Belgian and European modern and contemporary art. My flagship collection is the studio archive of Robert Detheux (nearly 1,500 works on paper). I also offer surrealist drawings, beautiful abstract paintings from the 1950s, magnificent nude photographs by Michel Pinel, contemporary paintings, Cobra compositions, and works by Marcus de Vestele, Gundi Falk, René Mels, Eugène Eechaut and many others.
From intimate drawings to large formats, there is something for every taste and every budget. The vast majority of my auctions start at 1 € with no reserve price, giving everyone the chance to acquire unique pieces.
Every shipment is prepared with the utmost care using professional museum-quality packaging to ensure perfect condition upon arrival.
Join my growing community of satisfied clients and follow my new auctions to discover rare works from these exceptional studios.
Thank you for your trust and happy bidding!
SR Fine Art
Translated by Google TranslateDetails
Artist
Robert Detheux (1932-2010)
Sold with frame
No
Sold by
Owner or reseller
Edition
Original
Title of artwork
Portrait féminin spectral
Technique
Mixed media
Signature
Signed
Country of origin
Belgium
Year
1978
Condition
Good condition
Height
51 cm
Width
39.5 cm
Style
Surrealism
Period
1970-1980
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