René Magritte

Robert Giron, Brussels (acquired from the artist)
Private Collection, Brussels (by descent from the above in 1967. Sale: Christie's, London, 29th June 1981, lot 52a)
Marisa del Re Gallery, New York
Private Collection, Europe (acquired from the above in January 1983. Sold: Sotheby's, New York, 7th November 2006, lot 45)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, René Magritte: peintures, objets surréalistes, 1936, no. 19
Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Les Compagnons de l'art, 1938, no. 273
Venice, XXIV Biennale Internazionale d'Arte di Venezia, 1948, no. 43
The Hague, Gemeentemuseum, Facetten van hedendaagse schilderkunst: België, Luxembourg, Nederland, 1949, no. 58
São Paulo, Museu de Arte Moderna, Bienal, 1951, no. 9
Knokke, Casino Communal, V^e festival belge d'été: Expositions René Magritte - Paul Delvaux, 1952, no. 19
Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, René Magritte, 1954, no. 48, illustrated in the catalogue
Venice, XXVII Biennale Internazionale d'Arte di Venezia, 1954, no. 44
Liège, Musée des Beaux-Arts, L'Apport wallon au surréalisme, 1955, no. 54
Charleroi, Salle de la Bourse, XXX^e salon [du] Cercle Royal Artistique et Littéraire de Charleroi, including a 'Rétrospective René Magritte,' 1956, no. 60
Brussels, Musée d'Ixelles, Magritte, 1959, no. 36
Liège, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Exposition Magritte, 1960, no. 21
London, Obelisk Gallery, Magritte: Paintings, Drawings, Gouaches, 1961, no. 21, illustrated in the catalogue
Vienna, Künstlerhaus, Surrealismus, phantastische Malerei der Gegenwart, 1962, no. 107
Knokke, Casino Communal, XV^e festival belge d'été: L'Œuvre de René Magritte, 1962, no. 48
New York, The Museum of Modern Art; Waltham, Massachusetts, Brandeis University; Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago; Pasadena, Art Museum & Berkeley, University Art Museum, René Magritte, 1965-66, no. 27, illustrated in the catalogue
Humlebæk, Louisiana Museum, René Magritte, 6 surrealister, 1967, no. 40
Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Six peintures surréalistes, 1967, no. 55
Rotterdam, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, René Magritte: het mysterie van de werkelijkheid/Le mystère de la réalité, 1967, no. 39, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Stockholm, Moderna Museet, René Magritte, 1967, no. 32, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Lausanne, Fondation de l'Hermitage, René Magritte, 1987, no. 38, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Munich, Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, René Magritte, 1987-88, no. 40, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Madrid, Fundación Juan March, Magritte, 1989
Mitsukoshi, Le Musée d'Art; Hyogo, Le Musée d'Art Moderne & Fukuoka, Le Musée des Arts, Retrospective Magritte, 1994-95, no. 22, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Vienna, BA-CA Kunstforum & Basel, Foundation Beyeler, René Magritte. Der Schlüssel der Träume, 2005, no. 46, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Paul Nougé, René Magritte ou la révélation objective, Brussels, 1936, illustrated p. 19
Paul Colinet, Pour illustrer Magritte, Brussels, 1936, no. 56
Les Beaux-Arts, Brussels, 1st May 1936, illustrated p. 19
'Album Surréaliste', in Mizue, Tokyo, 1937, illustrated pl. 80
Samleren, Copenhagen, March-April 1938, illustrated p. 69
Marcel Mariën, Magritte, Brussels, 1943, illustrated in colour pl. 10
De Roode vaan, Brussels, 27th December 1945, illustrated p. 4
René Magritte, Ecrits, Brussels, 1946, pp. 261-262 
E. L. T. Mesens, 'René Magritte', in Peintres belges contemporains, Brussels, 1947, no. 81, illustrated p. 163
Les Arts en Wallonie 1918-1946, Charleroi, 1947, illustrated pl. 22
Les Arts plastiques, Brussels, May-June 1948, illustrated p. 199
Louis Scutenaire, Magritte, Antwerp, 1948 [published 1950], illustrated pl. 6 
Max Kozloff, 'Epiphanies of artifice', in The Nation, New York, 10^th January 1966, pp. 55-56
Suzi Gablik, Magritte, London, 1970, no. 80, illustrated p. 91
René Magritte, La Destination: lettres à Marcel Mariën (1937-1962), Brussels, 1977, discussed in letters dated 31^st May & 2nd June 1943, nos. 46, 47 & 48, pp. 51-55
Harry Torczyner, Magritte: Ideas and Images, New York, 1977, no. 233, illustrated in colour p. 127
Jacques Meuris, René Magritte, London, 1988, no. 139, illustrated p. 92
Sarah Whitfield, Magritte (exhibition catalogue), Hayward Gallery, London, 1992, illustrated opposite no. 61
David Sylvester (ed.), Sarah Whitfield & Michael Raeburn, René Magritte. Catalogue Raisonné: Oil Paintings and Objects 1931-1948, London, 1993, vol. II, no. 385, illustrated p. 209
Magritte (exhibition catalogue), Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels, 1998, no. 19, illustrated p. 23
Robert Hughes, The Portable Magritte, New York, 2001, illustrated in colour p. 150
Gisèle Ollinger-Zinque, Magritte in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, 2005, illustrated p. 19

The canvas is unlined. Apart from some scattered small spots and areas of retouching, mainly in the background to the left of the door and in the upper right corner, visible under ultra-violet light, this work is in good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate, although the door has a slightly less warm tonality, and the colours are slightly brighter in the original.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Painted in 1935, La Perspective amoureuse is one of Magritte's earliest and most complex variations on the theme of a closed door, broken by a hole that reveals a landscape behind it. This image was first used in La Réponse imprévue of 1933 (fig. 1), and is derived from the artist's newly developed method: that of establishing a 'problem' and finding a 'solution' to it. 'The problem of the door called for an opening one could pass through. In La réponse imprévue, I showed a closed door in a room; in the door an irregular-shaped opening revealed the night' (R. Magritte, La Ligne de Vie, lecture of 20^th November 1938). The opening suggested itself as a solution to the problem of the door, as the door is an opening, and its purpose is to provide passage, access to what lies beyond.

 

At the heart of La Perspective amoureuse lies the paradox of the open/closed door, the act of concealing and revealing. The juxtaposition of opposing ideas is one of Magritte's most frequently used devices, with which he paints mysterious images and creates new meanings. The present work shows an interior as well as an exterior, the door is closed as well as open, and has a dual role of hiding and exposing what is behind it. By confronting these contrasted elements, Magritte evokes the essential surrealist paradigm of questioning the significance and purpose we attribute to various objects, and creating new meanings by placing these objects in new and unexpected contexts.

 

La Réponse imprévue depicts the same door, revealing the darkness of night through an irregularly-shaped hole. In the present version, Magritte has radically altered the mood of the composition, by replacing the darkness with a colourful seascape. The giant tree-leaf that dominates the landscape had appeared in La Géante (fig. 2), which Magritte painted a few months before the present work. As Sarah Whitfield pointed out: 'When Magritte painted a variant of this image in 1935 [the present work], he made the view through the door a brightly-lit landscape instead of an impenetrable wall of darkness: an early example of the ease with which he could transform an image of extreme gravity into one of cheerful assurance' (S. Whitfield, op. cit., n.p.).

 

La Perspective amourouse was exhibited for the first time in Brussels in 1936, shortly after its completion at the end of the previous year. Since then, it has become one of the most frequently exhibited works in all of Magritte's œuvre. On the reverse of the canvas Magritte titled this painting La Perspective amoureuse. The inscription on the stretcher, Le démon de la perversité is, however, not related to the present work, as Magritte had initially intended to use this same stretcher for another painting in 1927. The artist explained his choice of title for La Perspective amoureuse in a letter to his friend and fellow Surrealist Marcel Mariën: 'It is love which opens up the greatest vistas. Here, the greatest feeling of depth has been suggested by removing part of the panelling of a door which concealed a landscape consisting of known objects (trees, sky) and of a mysterious object (the large metal bell lying on the terrace)' (quoted in D. Sylvester (ed.), op. cit., p. 209).

 

 

Fig. 1, René Magritte, La Réponse imprévue, 1933, oil on canvas, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels

Fig. 2, René Magritte, La Géante, 1935, oil on canvas, Private Collection

Fig. 3, René Magritte, circa 1950.  Photograph by Roland d'Ursel