Note Details
- Stage: seed š±
- Type: quote
- Topics: art, surrealism, magritte
A reflection on Rene Magritteās āThe Blank Signatureā and the surrealist approach to subverting rational perception.
In this painting, Rene Magritte does what he does best: he takes our familiar world, breaks it into pieces, and then reassembles it.
As one of the leading figures of the surrealist movement in 1920s Paris, Magritteās approach mirrors one of the groupās fundamental principles. The surrealist manifesto, a multi-page written declaration drawn up by Andre Breton in 1924, states their aim was to āliberate the mind by subverting rational thought and giving free reign to the unconscious.ā
Thatās why the figure and horse in this painting are somewhat familiar to us: Magritte ingeniously distorts what would be an ordinary scene by creating an optical illusion. He tricks your eye by combining separate elements into one complete image, transforming a horseback rider into a dreamlike vision.
In doing this, Magritte not only takes us out of our world, but exposes how absurd our everyday world can be.
ā Rene Magritte, āThe Blank Signature,ā 1965, oil on canvas, 32 x 25 in., Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon