Rene Magritte Paintings – a few glimpses of the legend and genius

There are many artworks that are unanimously accepted as timeless. Rene Magritte paintings are among them. This article introduces you with a few.

The Treachery of Images

World famous paintings - The original name of this painting is La trahison des images and it was finished in the late 1920s. Some enthusiasts went far enough to rename this painting as The Treason of Images. Artworks like these have spread the name and fame of the Belgian genius commonly known as René Magritte. The painting features a pipe. Beneath the pipe Magritte painted some amazing words - "Ceci n'est pas une pipe." In plain English, this will read "This isn’t a pipe." What the painter wanted to imply is that, the painting itself isn’t a real pipe, rather it’s an image of a pipe.

Some literary critics of France reviewed this painting. For instance, French philosopher Michel Foucault illustrated the paradox in his book. Some called it an artistic work on human cognition and consciousness.
Time Transfixed 

Also know as La Durée poignardée, yet another painting from Rene Magritte paintings. This one was finished in late 1930s and considered high quality oil on canvas painting. Many critics believe that this painting upheld the surrealist entity of René Magritte. Today, this painting is the property of the Art Institute of Chicago. You can see it at the newly built Modern Wing of this museum. 

This painting was among the many that were meant for surrealist patron (and a prime supporter of Magritte) Edward James. From Rene Magritte this was the 2nd painting given to James. He decorated his renowned London ballroom with this painting. However, the 1st one was the surreal portrait of this James. Pretty interestingly, this painting was called - Not to be Reproduced. However, Time Transfixed had originally been bought by an Art Institute in the 1970s when James was trying to raise capital for building a surrealist sculpture garden called Las Pozas. 

Golconda 

In our list, this one is the 3rd one among Rene Magritte paintings. In original French, this one is called – Golconde and is a famous oil painting on typical canvas. René Magritte finished this painting in 1953. Today, this painting is housed in Texas, Houston at the Menil collection.

This piece of art depicts an interesting scene some apparently identical men who are dressed in black overcoats along with bowler hats. These three men look as if they were floating just like some helium balloons (nevertheless you can’t trace any sign of motion), against the backdrop of some buildings and blue sky. These men are actually spaced in an ingenious hexagonal grid and they are facing the view point while receding back within the grid layers.