Balthus Exhibition at Luxembourg & Co London Explores Controversial Voyeurism Through Paintings and Drawings

Luxembourg & Co in London presents 'Under the Surface,' an exhibition of Swiss painter Balthus's works through June 4. The show features nine paintings and five drawings, predominantly depicting female subjects in unsettling, dreamlike interiors. Balthus, who lived from 1908 to 2001, has long sparked controversy for his suggestive portrayals of young girls and women, with recent museum displays prompting protests. Notable canvases include Thérèse Dreaming (1938), Étude pour 'Le Salon' (1941), and Les trois soeurs (Sylvia, Marie-Pierre et Beatrice Colle) (1954–55), which arrange figures in psychologically charged compositions. Two pencil studies from 1969–70 and 1974 explicitly focus on genitalia, displayed on reversible frames alongside more innocent portraits. A 1934 painting depicts Madame Pierre Loeb as a porcelain doll, while Paysage de Champrovent (1941–45) incorporates a reclining woman into a neoclassical landscape. The disturbing Le poisson rouge (1948) presents a child's head as an effigy, accompanied by a catlike animal. These works exemplify Balthus's objectifying voyeurism, transforming living subjects into passive, de-energized objects within a narcissistic sensibility.