Village of the Mermaids

I'm obsessed with this painting by surrealist Paul Delvaux...I've had a thing for mermaids recently too, so it's funny that this haunting painting crossed my path...this image is sort of small, but you can see off in the distance, near where the man in black with the bowler hat is walking, the village women are turning into mermaids as they dive into the ocean...I just love the prim and proper, oh-so-serious ladies, carefully hiding their tails and scales...