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Small Train Station at Night

Paul Delvaux Belgian
1959
Not on view
Trains play a prominent, recurring role in Delvaux’s surrealist imagery, including this eerie depiction of two locomotives leaving their terminus at night. Unpopulated, the composition invites the viewer to imagine inhabiting the space, thus evoking a sense of loneliness and vulnerability. An unnaturally large moon casts the scene in a cool, still light that produces protracted, ominous shadows. These features betray Delvaux’s debt to Italian artist Giorgio de Chirico, who likewise explored the train as both subject and symbol in his work.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Small Train Station at Night
  • Artist: Paul Delvaux (Belgian, 1897–1994)
  • Date: 1959
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 55 1/4 x 67 in. (140.3 x 170.2 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: The Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Collection, 2002
  • Object Number: 2002.456.9
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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The Great Sirens, Paul Delvaux Belgian, Oil on Masonite
The Great Sirens
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Ancient City, Paul Delvaux Belgian, Oil on canvas
Ancient City
Paul Delvaux
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The Eternally Obvious, René Magritte Belgian, Oil on canvas mounted on board
The Eternally Obvious
René Magritte
1948
The Liar, the copy of the Liar - 1, Francis Alÿs Belgian, Enamel on metal sheet, oil on paperboard with masking tape and oil and wax on canvas glued to particle board
The Liar, the copy of the Liar - 1
Francis Alÿs
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The Guiding Light, Harold Ancart Belgian, Oil stick and graphite pencil on canvas, artist's frame
The Guiding Light
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