Robert Detheux (1932-2010) - Portrait surréaliste d’un chat – 2005
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Selected by Giulia Couzzi
Master’s in culture and arts innovation, with a decade in 20th-21st century Italian art.
Estimate € 200 - € 250
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Robert Detheux, Portrait surrealiste d’un chat – 2005, mixed media on paper (crayon, charcoal and white highlights), 51.5 × 41.5 cm, signed, original edition, Belgium, in good condition.
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Description from the seller
Robert Detheux (1932-2010) – Chat – 2005
Artist:
Robert Detheux (Brussels, 1932 – Tournai, 2010)
Title of the work: Cat (cat series)
Date: 2005
Signature:
Signed and dated “Detheux 2005” at the bottom right.
Technique:
Crayon, charcoal and white highlights on paper, glued / fixed to a larger tinted sheet.
The line is nervous and synthetic, the modeling obtained by light smudges and white chalk accents. The speckled background and the mounting on a larger sheet fully contribute to the atmosphere of the work.
Dimensions: 51.5 × 41.5 cm (mount sheet)
Condition:
Good overall condition. A small crease visible at the bottom left, not serious and not affecting the figure. The variations in the paper texture and the nature of the mounting are an integral part of the composition.
Sold unframed.
Provenance:
From the artist’s studio funds (acquired directly).
Description:
Beautiful drawing from 2005 belonging to the cat series by Robert Detheux, fully within his late period. A feline face emerges from the paper, with enlarged eyes, the nose barely indicated, the ears suggested by a few strokes.
Nothing is descriptive. Detheux does not do an animal portrait: he makes a presence appear. The cat becomes a spectral figure, at once familiar and unsettling, typical of his creatures from the 2000-2010 period. The white highlights illuminate the sockets and the modeling, the line remains vivid and economical.
The mounting on a larger tinted sheet, with stains and surface imperfections, anchors the work in time and reinforces its workshop character. The overall piece possesses great visual strength despite its apparent simplicity.
Generous format, rarity of cats in this final period, intensity of the gaze: a work characteristic of the artist’s maturity, appealing to collectors of Belgian surrealist art sensitive to feline forms, to appearances, and to that animal poetry that runs through Detheux’s entire oeuvre.
Artist Biography
Born in Brussels in 1932 and deceased in 2010, Robert Detheux is a singular, demanding, and deeply endearing figure of 20th-century Belgian art.
A graduate of the Institut Saint-Luc’s Fine Arts program 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 journey unfolds across several major periods:
• From the 1950s-1960s, he asserted a powerful surrealist and expressionist language, marked by intense portraits and dreamlike compositions.
• In the 1970s, he sensuously and obsessively explored the theme of the body and the female face, developing hybrid figures and highly elaborated 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, particularly sought after today, is the era of total maturity: spectral portraits, apparitions, hybrid figures and feline creatures executed with exceptional mastery — the period to which this drawing fully belongs.
Little exposed during his lifetime, Robert Detheux freely created an intimate, subversive, and poetic universe that belongs only to him.
Rediscovered in recent years thanks to the unveiling of his substantial studio archive (nearly 1,500 works), his oeuvre now enjoys growing and legitimate enthusiasm among discerning collectors in Belgium, Spain, and Europe.
A Master of drawing, Detheux leaves behind an authentic, vibrant, and timeless body of work 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, feline creatures, 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) – Chat – 2005
Artist:
Robert Detheux (Brussels, 1932 – Tournai, 2010)
Title of the work: Cat (cat series)
Date: 2005
Signature:
Signed and dated “Detheux 2005” at the bottom right.
Technique:
Crayon, charcoal and white highlights on paper, glued / fixed to a larger tinted sheet.
The line is nervous and synthetic, the modeling obtained by light smudges and white chalk accents. The speckled background and the mounting on a larger sheet fully contribute to the atmosphere of the work.
Dimensions: 51.5 × 41.5 cm (mount sheet)
Condition:
Good overall condition. A small crease visible at the bottom left, not serious and not affecting the figure. The variations in the paper texture and the nature of the mounting are an integral part of the composition.
Sold unframed.
Provenance:
From the artist’s studio funds (acquired directly).
Description:
Beautiful drawing from 2005 belonging to the cat series by Robert Detheux, fully within his late period. A feline face emerges from the paper, with enlarged eyes, the nose barely indicated, the ears suggested by a few strokes.
Nothing is descriptive. Detheux does not do an animal portrait: he makes a presence appear. The cat becomes a spectral figure, at once familiar and unsettling, typical of his creatures from the 2000-2010 period. The white highlights illuminate the sockets and the modeling, the line remains vivid and economical.
The mounting on a larger tinted sheet, with stains and surface imperfections, anchors the work in time and reinforces its workshop character. The overall piece possesses great visual strength despite its apparent simplicity.
Generous format, rarity of cats in this final period, intensity of the gaze: a work characteristic of the artist’s maturity, appealing to collectors of Belgian surrealist art sensitive to feline forms, to appearances, and to that animal poetry that runs through Detheux’s entire oeuvre.
Artist Biography
Born in Brussels in 1932 and deceased in 2010, Robert Detheux is a singular, demanding, and deeply endearing figure of 20th-century Belgian art.
A graduate of the Institut Saint-Luc’s Fine Arts program 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 journey unfolds across several major periods:
• From the 1950s-1960s, he asserted a powerful surrealist and expressionist language, marked by intense portraits and dreamlike compositions.
• In the 1970s, he sensuously and obsessively explored the theme of the body and the female face, developing hybrid figures and highly elaborated 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, particularly sought after today, is the era of total maturity: spectral portraits, apparitions, hybrid figures and feline creatures executed with exceptional mastery — the period to which this drawing fully belongs.
Little exposed during his lifetime, Robert Detheux freely created an intimate, subversive, and poetic universe that belongs only to him.
Rediscovered in recent years thanks to the unveiling of his substantial studio archive (nearly 1,500 works), his oeuvre now enjoys growing and legitimate enthusiasm among discerning collectors in Belgium, Spain, and Europe.
A Master of drawing, Detheux leaves behind an authentic, vibrant, and timeless body of work 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, feline creatures, 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 by
Owner or reseller
Edition
Original
Title of artwork
Portrait surréaliste d’un chat – 2005
Technique
Mixed media
Signature
Signed
Country of origin
Belgium
Year
2005
Condition
Good condition
Height
51.5 cm
Width
41.5 cm
Style
Surrealism
Period
2000-2010
Sold by
