Lot 3257 - A211 Art Impressionniste & Moderne - vendredi, 29. novembre 2024, 17h00
RENÉ MAGRITTE
(Lessines 1898–1967 Brussels)
Moralité du sommeil. Circa 1941.
Gouache on paper.
Signed upper right: magritte.
Verso with confirmation of authenticity by the wife of the artist.
Verso with confirmation of authenticity by the wife of the artist.
33 × 24.1 cm.
Provenance:
- Renée Lachowsky, Brussels.
- Christian Fayt, Knokke-Heist.
- Mr and Mrs Wim Poppe, Belgium, 1978.
- Private collection, Switzerland.
- Sale Sotheby's, London, 7.12.1983, Lot 389.
- With Waddington Galleries, London (label verso), acquired at the above auction.
- Private collection, Monte Carlo, acquired in 1984 from the above gallery.
- With Waddington Galleries, London.
- Private collection, Switzerland, acquired from the above gallery on 15.6.1990.
Exhibited:
Literature:
Although René Magritte’s expressive gouache is not dated, it can be narrowed down to the early 1940s based on various references:
The idea of the hollow body behind bars goes back to the work “Le thérapeute”, which the artist first painted in gouache in 1936 and then in oil in 1937. A woman with long flowing hair, framed by a blue curtain and a landscape suggested in the background can be found in the painting “La connaissance naturelle” from early 1941. And one of the drawings that Magritte made for Paul Eluard’s poem “Moralité du sommeil” depicts exactly the same figure. This collaborative work was first published in Brussels in 1941. The poet friend, one of the most important exponents of literary surrealism, played a key role in organizing the 1938 “Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme” in the Galerie Beaux-Arts in Paris, where the painting “Le thérapeute” was exhibited.
The woman’s body is not only empty, but also dark – even black – and behind bars. This leaves much room for surrealist interpretations. The figure is trapped in her unconscious thoughts: irrational, heavy and dark. At the same time, this confined being represents both limitation and protection. The black cannot spread endlessly; it is contained by the double curtain of blonde hair and blue fabric. Outside waits the real world, brighter and less threatening, as indicated by the gentle hills.
Putting aside the deeper meaning, the eye can simply enjoy the remarkably strong use of color with the dramatic contrast between yellow, blue and black; or the skillful play of light and shadow, which makes the curtain and the figure’s hair darker and darker from left to right.
The idea of the hollow body behind bars goes back to the work “Le thérapeute”, which the artist first painted in gouache in 1936 and then in oil in 1937. A woman with long flowing hair, framed by a blue curtain and a landscape suggested in the background can be found in the painting “La connaissance naturelle” from early 1941. And one of the drawings that Magritte made for Paul Eluard’s poem “Moralité du sommeil” depicts exactly the same figure. This collaborative work was first published in Brussels in 1941. The poet friend, one of the most important exponents of literary surrealism, played a key role in organizing the 1938 “Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme” in the Galerie Beaux-Arts in Paris, where the painting “Le thérapeute” was exhibited.
The woman’s body is not only empty, but also dark – even black – and behind bars. This leaves much room for surrealist interpretations. The figure is trapped in her unconscious thoughts: irrational, heavy and dark. At the same time, this confined being represents both limitation and protection. The black cannot spread endlessly; it is contained by the double curtain of blonde hair and blue fabric. Outside waits the real world, brighter and less threatening, as indicated by the gentle hills.
Putting aside the deeper meaning, the eye can simply enjoy the remarkably strong use of color with the dramatic contrast between yellow, blue and black; or the skillful play of light and shadow, which makes the curtain and the figure’s hair darker and darker from left to right.
CHF 400 000 / 700 000 | (€ 412 370 / 721 650)
Vendu pour CHF 890 400 (frais inclus)