Robert Detheux (1932-2010) - Une folle sous la douche - 1978
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Original mixed‑media drawing by Robert Detheux (1932-2010), titled Une folle sous la douche, 1978, on paper, 51.5 × 41.5 cm, signed and dated Detheux 78, in very good condition, provenance from the artist’s studio.
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Description from the seller
Robert Detheux (1932-2010)
A Fool in the Shower 1978
Artist:
Robert Detheux (Brussels, 1932 – Tournai, 2010)
Title of the work: A Fool in the Shower
Date: 1978
Signature:
Signed and dated “Detheux 78” at bottom left.
Technique:
Mixed media on paper (wash, rubbing, pastel/chalk, highlights in pink and blue-gray).
The support is worked with broad vertical splashes that evoke water, rain, or a shower. The female figure emerges from this fluid material through delicate pink modeling and contours that are barely indicated.
Dimensions: 51.5 × 41.5 cm
State:
Very good overall condition. The rubbings, splashes and color highlights are perfectly preserved. The varying textures and the “skin” quality of the paper are an integral part of the composition.
Sold unframed.
Provenance:
Artist’s studio collection (acquired directly). Titled on the back.
Description:
Magnificent surrealist drawing from 1978, fully within Robert Detheux’s great 1970s period, characterized by obsessive exploration of the female body and appearances. A naked woman is barely drawn against a background of vertical gray, brown, and pinkish splashes.
The title given by the artist — A Fool in the Shower — infuses the work with gentle irony and a troubling poetry. Nothing is descriptive.
The body is not depicted: it appears, dissolves, and recomposes itself in the water. The pinks of the flesh contrast with the blues and browns of the wash, creating a damp, almost watery light.
Detheux achieves here a great freedom of material. The vertical traces function simultaneously as decoration, veil, and metaphor. The figure, both present and elusive, belongs to the hybrid and spectral bodies that are the strength of his finest sheets from the late 1970s.
A rare work due to its autographed title, mood, and the quality of its modeling, it will charm collectors of Belgian surrealist art sensitive to spectral eroticism, emerging figures, and to this poetry of water and disappearance that runs through Detheux’s entire oeuvre.
Artist Biography
Born in Brussels in 1932 and died in 2010, Robert Detheux is a singular, exacting, and deeply endearing figure in 20th-century Belgian art.
A graduate of the Saint-Luc Institute in Fine 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 through several major periods:
• 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 female body and face, developing hybrid figures and highly elaborate textures — the period to which this drawing fully belongs.
• The 1980s-1990s saw the flourishing of a more hybrid and grotesque universe, mixing erotism, dark humor, and poetry.
• Finally, the 2000-2010 period, particularly sought after today, is one of total maturity: spectral portraits, appearances, hybrid figures and feline creatures executed with exceptional mastery.
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 a legitimate and growing enthusiasm among collectors in Belgium, Spain, and Europe.
A master of drawing and matter, Detheux leaves behind an authentic, vibrant, and timeless body of work that continues to surprise and seduce with its evocative power, deep humanity, and modernity.
Collecting Detheux is to enter a unique, dreamlike world, populated by hybrid figures, appearances, 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)
A Fool in the Shower 1978
Artist:
Robert Detheux (Brussels, 1932 – Tournai, 2010)
Title of the work: A Fool in the Shower
Date: 1978
Signature:
Signed and dated “Detheux 78” at bottom left.
Technique:
Mixed media on paper (wash, rubbing, pastel/chalk, highlights in pink and blue-gray).
The support is worked with broad vertical splashes that evoke water, rain, or a shower. The female figure emerges from this fluid material through delicate pink modeling and contours that are barely indicated.
Dimensions: 51.5 × 41.5 cm
State:
Very good overall condition. The rubbings, splashes and color highlights are perfectly preserved. The varying textures and the “skin” quality of the paper are an integral part of the composition.
Sold unframed.
Provenance:
Artist’s studio collection (acquired directly). Titled on the back.
Description:
Magnificent surrealist drawing from 1978, fully within Robert Detheux’s great 1970s period, characterized by obsessive exploration of the female body and appearances. A naked woman is barely drawn against a background of vertical gray, brown, and pinkish splashes.
The title given by the artist — A Fool in the Shower — infuses the work with gentle irony and a troubling poetry. Nothing is descriptive.
The body is not depicted: it appears, dissolves, and recomposes itself in the water. The pinks of the flesh contrast with the blues and browns of the wash, creating a damp, almost watery light.
Detheux achieves here a great freedom of material. The vertical traces function simultaneously as decoration, veil, and metaphor. The figure, both present and elusive, belongs to the hybrid and spectral bodies that are the strength of his finest sheets from the late 1970s.
A rare work due to its autographed title, mood, and the quality of its modeling, it will charm collectors of Belgian surrealist art sensitive to spectral eroticism, emerging figures, and to this poetry of water and disappearance that runs through Detheux’s entire oeuvre.
Artist Biography
Born in Brussels in 1932 and died in 2010, Robert Detheux is a singular, exacting, and deeply endearing figure in 20th-century Belgian art.
A graduate of the Saint-Luc Institute in Fine 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 through several major periods:
• 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 female body and face, developing hybrid figures and highly elaborate textures — the period to which this drawing fully belongs.
• The 1980s-1990s saw the flourishing of a more hybrid and grotesque universe, mixing erotism, dark humor, and poetry.
• Finally, the 2000-2010 period, particularly sought after today, is one of total maturity: spectral portraits, appearances, hybrid figures and feline creatures executed with exceptional mastery.
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 a legitimate and growing enthusiasm among collectors in Belgium, Spain, and Europe.
A master of drawing and matter, Detheux leaves behind an authentic, vibrant, and timeless body of work that continues to surprise and seduce with its evocative power, deep humanity, and modernity.
Collecting Detheux is to enter a unique, dreamlike world, populated by hybrid figures, appearances, 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
Une folle sous la douche - 1978
Technique
Mixed media
Signature
Signed
Country of origin
Belgium
Year
1978
Condition
Good condition
Height
51.5 cm
Width
41.5 cm
Style
Surrealism
Period
1970-1980
Sold by
