René Magritte

Galerie Alexandre Iolas, Paris (acquired from the artist in 1953)
Arnold Weissberger, New York (sold: Christie's, New York, 14th May 1986, lot 53)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Harry Torczyner, René Magritte: Ideas and Images, New York, 1977, no. 381, illustrated in colour p. 177
David Sylvester (ed.), Sarah Whitfield & Michael Raeburn, René Magritte. Catalogue Raisonné, London, 1993, vol. III, no. 803, illustrated p. 227

The canvas is unlined. There are two tiny spots of retouching in the sky by the right framing edge, visible under ultra-violet light. Apart from a very faint stretcher mark running horizontally below the top edge, this work is in very good condition. Colours: In comparison to the printed catalogue illustration, the sky and clouds are overall slightly softer and warmer in the original, and the lower section is richer and more detailed 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 the autumn of 1953, the present work is a captivating example of what is arguably Magritte's most celebrated subject – L'Empire des lumières. This was the time when Magritte was receiving an increased international recognition, and in April 1953 Gustave Nellens commissioned from the artist a panoramic mural for his casino at Knokke-le-Zoute. For the mural, entitled Le Domaine enchanté, Magritte chose some of his most iconic imagery, including the subject that is otherwise known as L'Empire des lumières (fig. 1).

 

Jacques Meuris wrote about the subject of the present work: 'Magritte's sheer skill as a painter enabled him to play what in terms of pictorial composition is the very risky game of exploring the phenomenon of the meeting of day and night, of light and shade, in a semi-urban landscape for which the outskirts of present-day Brussels still provide several possible models. [...] The interpretation almost goes without saying; we have no difficulty in understanding it. These are indeed the least problematical of the artist's works [...]. A sentimentality reappears in them that is violently rejected elsewhere. Yet at the same time they are among Magritte's most enigmatic pictures' (J. Meuris, Magritte, London, 1988, p. 138).

 

While Magritte uses simple and easily recognisable imagery, in the present work this enigma comes from their unexpected combinations, which question the viewer's interpretations of everyday occurrences. The image of a cloudy sky appears frequently throughout Magritte's art, and in the present composition it occupies a large portion of the canvas, providing a bright day-time atmosphere, in contrast to the dark street in the foreground. The unexpected juxtaposition, however, comes not only from the coupling of day and night settings, but also from the contrast between the fleeting, temporary nature of the clouds and the solidity of the buildings underneath it.

 

André Breton wrote about the present image: 'René Magritte's work and thought could not fail to come out at that opposite pole from the zone of facility – and of capitulation – that goes by the name of 'chiaroscuro'. To him, inevitably, fell the task of separating the 'subtle' from the 'dense', without which effort no transmutation is possible. To attack this problem called for all his audacity – to extract simultaneously what is light from the shadow and what is shadow from the light (L'empire des lumières). In this work the violence done to accepted ideas and conventions is such (I have this from Magritte) that most of those who go by quickly think they saw the stars in the daytime sky. In Magritte's entire performance there is present to a high degree what Apollinaire called 'genuine good sense, which is, of course, that of the great poets' (A. Breton in Magritte (exhibition catalogue), Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, 1964, n.p.).

 

 

 

Fig. 1, René Magritte, Le Domaine enchanté, 1953, oil on canvas, one of the studies for the mural of the same title at the Casino Communal, Knokke-le-Zoute