Paul Delmée Belgian, b. 1944

Paul Delmée (1944, Brussel) studied architecture at the Academie des Beaux Arts in Brussels. A professional painter since 1986, Delmée has chosen to express himself using the old technique: painting in tempera. This technique, which uses binders and pigments, involves working in successive layers to give depth to the tones. Traditionally used on plaster or primed wood, Paul Delmée applies this technique to stretched canvas, preferably large format, which gives his work a certain uniqueness.

His favourite themes are childhood memories translated through architectural and mythological subjects, such as the Tower of Babel or Daedalus' labyrinth. His work reveals fears, memories and everything that slowly fades away. Sometimes an object that is familiar to us slips in, a chair, a table or an apple, but somehow shifted. A sign of alienation. His palette is warm with green and golden tones, yet always monochrome. The silence that envelops Delmée's work, a calm, deep melting pot of all kinds of possibilities, is far from sterile and evokes numerous emotions in most people. 

Paul’s great love was the gallery owner Chantal Elshout (1949–2022), who ran Galerie Tempera in Brussels for over twenty years and represented his work alongside Morren Galleries. In 2013, the couple moved to Beaune, France, where Elshout continued the gallery under the same name. Her death in 2022 marked its closure. Paul continues to live and work in Beaune.