140 - Belgian School, 20th century.

Belgian School, 20th century. “La grande Peur.” Oil on canvas. Features an illegible signature. Measurements: 108 x 108 cm; 113 x 113 cm (frame). A composition with a dreamlike atmosphere and surrealist overtones, in which a group of anthropomorphic figures—with sinuous bodies and faces reduced to dark slits—gather beneath a turbulent sky. The scene, dominated by a palette of ochres, earth tones, sables, and golden hues, contrasts the luminosity of a star among the clouds with the strange stillness of the figures, arranged in a sort of silent crowd. Their organic, deliberately ambiguous forms seem to oscillate between the human and the vegetal, evoking a depersonalized humanity, united by a shared fear. The title, *La grande Peur* (*The Great Fear*), reinforces the psychological dimension of the scene and suggests a reflection on collective anxiety. Within the artistic context of the 20th century, the work finds visual affinities with Surrealism and its explorations of the subconscious, the uncanny, and the distortion of reality, though this does not necessarily imply a direct affiliation with that movement. The soft brushstrokes, the velvety-looking paint, and the diffused lighting help create a space suspended between dream and nightmare, where the familiar becomes strange, and the absence of an explicit narrative invites the viewer to construct their own interpretation.