Belgian artist Paul Delvaux made his career out of painting female nudes. As such, this is a departure for him as it shows mixed genders. He was also a big fan of Jules Verne and the Greek writer Homer. He was named director of the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in 1965. In 1982 the Paul Delvaux Museum opened in Saint-Idesbald, Belgium. Delvaux died in Veurne in 1994. (http://artdayonline.org/dailyart_201603/)