René Magritte

E. L. T. Mesens, London (acquired from the artist circa 1932)

Marc Hendrickx, Brussels (acquired from the above late 1950s)

Hanover Gallery, London

Leonard and Ruth Horwich, Chicago (acquired from the above 1960)

Private Collection (acquired from the above 2007)

Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Exposition René Magritte, 1933, no. 18

Paris, Parc des Expositions, Salon des Surindépendants, Sixième exposition, 1933

Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Exposition Minotaure, 1934, no. 72

Knokke, Casino Communal, Ve festival belge d'été: Expositions René Magritte-Paul Delvaux, 1952, no. 11

Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, René Magritte, 1954, no. 41

Venice, Giardini, XXVII Biennale di Venezia, Belgian Pavilion,  1954,
no. 40

Chicago, Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, René Magritte, 1964, no. 4

Little Rock, Arkansas Art Center, Magritte,  1964

Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art, Dada and Surrealism in Chicago Collections, 1984-85 (titled When the Bell Tolls)

New York, Gagosian Gallery, Marble, 2009

Marianne, Paris, November 8, 1933, installation photograph of Surindépendants exhibition p. 5

Herbert Read, Art and Society, London 1937, illustrated pl. 96

David Sylvester, Sarah Whitfield & Michael Raeburn, René Magritte Catalogue Raisonné, vol. II, London, 1994, no. 347, illustrated p. 181

Very good condition. Original canvas that has a strip-lining reinforcing the tacking edges. There is a slight, easily rectifiable creasing to upper-left corner. The paint layer is beautifully preserved. Under UV light, there are some small, hairling retouchings that appear to be purely cosmetic, the most significant of which are 1) thin vertical lines approximately 6 cm in from the left vertical framing edge which correspond to the left vertical stretcher bar, 2) a concentrated area of lines and dots of retouching in the lower left corner between the vertical line and the sculptural figure, 3) scattered spots and lines in the foreground, 4) and scattered spots and lines in the sky with the most concentrated area being in the lower right of the sky, just above the horizon. Most of these retouchings appear to minimize areas of the canvas weave and are of little consequence. Very good condition.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Quand l'heure sonnera dates from the height of the Surrealist movement in the early 1930s, when members of the avant-garde relished in depicting the absurd, the imaginary or the impossible as concrete subjects in their art; few among them had as lasting an impact at the Belgian painter, Magritte. This picture belongs to a series of works in which a plaster of a female torso, evocative of the Venus de Milo, serves as a central focal point and is justaposed with seemingly unrelated objects.  As is the case for the present composition, the titles for Magritte's most intriguing paintings often had little to do with the subjects at hand and were usually derived from the creative suggestions of his friends.   The artist's selection of this poetic title is an effective means of provoking our curiosity and enhancing the narrative possibilities of the picture. 

Magritte's art is renowned for its use of "elective affinities," a term used by Goethe to describe the pairing of two distinct elements.  In this picture, that pairing exists between the torso and the balloon, which invite a host of interpretive possibilities.   Magritte's objective with this image is to challenge our basic understanding of the world vis-à-vis our reliance upon seeing connections or "links in a chain" among all objects. 

In Magritte's most provocative Surrealist compositions, the female nude is always depicted either with her eyes closed, or with her head turned away from the viewer or, as in the present work, as an inanimate object, thus becoming the object of the spectator's gaze and erotic desire. "Magritte said, in fact, that an undercurrent of eroticism was one of the reasons a painting might have for existing. It asserted itself most intensely and explicitly in these stately classical nudes with their cool coloring. For the very reason that it aims at maximum resemblance, their academicism is upset by the provocation of mystery emanating from that identification, once the painting and the arrangement of the painting interfere with its course" (J. Meuris, René Magritte, London, 1988, p. 76).