Last Saturday my future family in law and myself visited the new Magritte museum in Brussels for which, apparently, you should book your tickets in advance (thank God for organized girlfriends). The only thing I knew about Magritte were the pipes and apples and the contradictory phrases people exclaim when someone mentions the name Magritte. But this visit was an eye-opener and really got my head spinning. The saga surrounding him took me and the other visitors on a ride through the life of an artist who was born at the very end of the 19th century and saw modern society come to life in the light of circumstances most modern artists haven’t even seen a reflection of. Although I can recommend the museum for the ‘bigger picture’ it offers. (and make sure you get the headphones for explanations), here some paintings that really struck me.
Magritte is known for painting his wife very often, unlike other artists painting strangers all the time. René and Georgette Magritte (and their dog after the war) seem to me a romance worthy of their own novel. Seeing them fool around in the black&white videos they show at the museum tells a lot about the people behind the art. But the amount of paintings he made of his wife disturbed me a little as well. This painting was reproduced about four times because buyers kept asking for it. I wonder if I would so happily sell nude paintings of my wife to people. Isn’t this some kind of pimping? Anyway, I guess women prefer their husbands painting them nude and selling it instead of having strange women pose nude all the time. I guess nude painting always has its complexities for couples.
This is a painting which was bought by Sabena, the old Belgian Airlines now called Brussels Airlines after Sabena’s bankruptcy in 2001, to be used for their brand identity. The actual painting I’m referring to is different from this one and called ‘L’oiseau de ciel‘ (this one is ‘La Grande Famille’) but I couldn’t find a higher resolution. Differences are that the bird flies the other direction and the sea is actually the landing strip of Brussels Airport by night. Apparently it was sold after the bankruptcy to help raise money for the employees.
The essence of doors is seriously questioned here. Is the door the hole in the wall or the wooden screen closing the gap? Does the hole make the door as gap-closer redundant or does it reinstate its true function by again giving way to what lies behind? True philosophy, René, true philosophy.
This reminds me of some of the Muse albums (BTW: wow for their new album cover and can’t wait to hear the sounds!) which feature random poles or people or teddy bears in mathematical patterns in the air or on the ground. The impersonality of mathematics and numbers gets replaced with human people. Do the numbers get more human or the humans more impersonal?
This reminds me of a song my fiancee has on CD in the car and I’ve finally managed to sing along to. It’s by the Great Big Sea, called The Mermaid and very funny. If you need some uplifting music while you’re driving, their songs can definitely help.
Lastly, I want to point at Magritte’s signature which is used on posters and other print materials everywhere and which I’m very jealous of. It just works.
