The Secret Parisian Painter

December 4, 2011 10:26 AM

Influenced by Bosch, Cranach, Goya and the Surrealists Claude Verlinde who was born in 1927 is a very private magic realist about whose life little seems known. Here is his web presence.
If you understand French, the press pages are interesting. Bonus SLYT slideshow. (NSFW) .
posted by adamvasco (11 comments total)

wonderful stuff. i would love to see some of the originals
posted by paradise at 10:39 AM on December 4, 2011

In case, like me, you didn't know: Magic Realism.
posted by jeffamaphone at 10:45 AM on December 4, 2011

I watched about four frames of that video and closed the window to spend too much money on a physical book of this guy's stuff. It feels unbearably wrong to be looking at these things on a computer screen at all, let alone a Youtube video.
posted by cmoj at 10:50 AM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

There's some very delicately beautiful stuff here. Thank you, adamvasco. Describing things by referencing other artists is a bad habit I'm trying to do away with, but a lot of these remind me of Paul Delvaux and Jacek Yerka--two of my favorite artists. All of them seem very good at capturing the softness and mutability of dreams; the way elements overlap, and objects are often two or more discrete things simultaneously.
posted by byanyothername at 11:02 AM on December 4, 2011 [2 favorites]

This doesn't need magic, but it is psychologically realistic.
posted by StickyCarpet at 11:04 AM on December 4, 2011 [3 favorites]

cmoj: It feels unbearably wrong to be looking at these things on a computer screen at all,

I want to see it more fully somehow, good. More, bigger, more real and closer up. This is good. Fuckin' very. Like pay money to see better very....
posted by Skygazer at 11:35 AM on December 4, 2011

I would cheerfully do any number of unethical things to own the original of La Fee Frileuse. Something about her expression and the wings.
posted by winna at 12:07 PM on December 4, 2011

Describing things by referencing other artists is a bad habit I'm trying to do away with

But by the same token, I'd say this artist is consciously gesturing to other artists - or if he isn't, it remains useful to trace the associations he produces for us as viewers with other artists. For me I sensed the presence of Grandville, though perhaps his influence was by way of the surrealists. Compare this with this, and this with this.
posted by jrb223 at 12:17 PM on December 4, 2011 [2 favorites]

Ah, it's a good way to start a new week, discovering a wonderful new artist. Thank you, adamvasco!
posted by madamjujujive at 9:11 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

This is really good, thanks. Reminds me a bit of Remedios Varo.
posted by Wemmick at 1:00 AM on December 6, 2011

Wow. Amazing.

The outlook does not look very bright for the bride in Le Mariage, does it? The specific date is interesting; I wonder if he was referring to the nuptials of a particular person? Not a big fan of the groom, clearly.
posted by taz at 3:04 AM on December 6, 2011