Brussels is a meeting place for people of different nationalities and cultural backgrounds. On trips when it is not just fly-in-fly-out the same day, it is worth to ask around what to do in free time. A couple of months ago while in Brussels, a colleague of mine proposed to go to an art museum devoted to the Belgian surrealist René Magritte.
René Magritte, a renowned Belgian surrealist artist, left an indelible mark on the art world with his thought-provoking and enigmatic works. Born in Lessines, Belgium, in 1898, Magritte’s artistic journey began in the early 1920s. Initially influenced by Cubism and Futurism, he later embraced surrealism, a movement that sought to explore the irrational and unconscious aspects of the human mind. Magritte’s distinctive style is characterized by meticulous attention to detail, precise rendering, and a meticulous technique that defies reality. Perhaps best known for his painting “The Treachery of Images,” featuring a pipe with the caption “Ceci n’est pas une pipe” (This is not a pipe), Magritte challenged conventional notions of representation and reality. His work often explores the disjunction between words and images, prompting viewers to question the nature of perception and meaning. The artist’s fascination with everyday objects takes center stage in many of his iconic pieces. Bowler hats, apples, and clouds recur in his compositions, serving as recurring motifs that acquire surreal significance in the context of his paintings. Magritte’s ability to transform ordinary objects into extraordinary symbols of mystery and intrigue sets his work apart. During the 1940s, Magritte spent time in the United States, where his work influenced American surrealist and pop art movements. Despite this, he remained true to his unique vision, exploring the boundaries of reality and illusion. His legacy endures as a testament to the power of art to challenge perceptions and provoke contemplation. René Magritte passed away in 1967, leaving behind a body of work that continues to captivate audiences, inviting them to delve into the mysterious realms of the human psyche and the art of the surreal.
As surrealism is balancing between the unconscious and real, I cannot say I understood that what I so. But this winter I had an opportunity to listen to a series of lectures in psychology and went through some obligatory stuff including texts by Sigmund Freud. A vital part of his work was devoted to the understanding of that what is behind our night-dreams. And why we associate with each other pictures that in real terms, have nothing in common. With some exercise in games of that what is between dreams and reality, things got somehow more clear.
Below, photos I made that afternoon walking around the exhibition floors.
