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Driven by Dreams

When Magritte puts ordinary objects into unfamiliar situations, they become extraordinary

December 2013

René Magritte, The False Mirror, 1928. Oil on canvas, 21 1/4x31 7/8in. Museum of Modern Art, Purchase, 133.1936. Digital Image: The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, NY. ©2013
C. Herscovici, London/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

What do you think the title of this painting, The False Mirror, means?

When you dream, your subconscious mind puts different parts of your life side-by-side. For example, your science teacher might dance the tango with your aunt on the school soccer field. Magritte and other Surrealist artists played with this concept. They found that juxtaposing ordinary but unrelated objects could be as disorienting and powerful as waking up from a strange dream.

Inspiration in Paris

Magritte knew that he needed to move to Paris, the heart of the Surrealist movement, to get noticed. He arrived in 1927 and soon met important Surrealists like Max Ernst, Salvador Dalí, and Joan Miró. These artists were interested in the way the mind works, so they read up on the latest theories of psychology. They were especially interested in dreams.

Magritte and Miró became good friends, meeting for lunch every Thursday. During these lively meals, the artists discussed the meaning and purpose of art. Since we already know what the world looks like, why represent it literally on the canvas? If our dreaming minds can create strange worlds, perhaps artists should try to do the same in waking life. 

René Magritte, The Therapist, 1937. Oil on canvas, 36 1/4x25 9/16in. Private Collection. Image: Banque d’Images, ADAGP/Art Resource, New York.
©2013 C. Herscovici, London/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Why do you think Magritte chose to replace the subject’s ribcage with a birdcage in this portrait?

Strange Visions

René Magritte, Time Transfixed, 1938. Oil on canvas, 57 7/8x38 7/8in. Art Institute of Chicago, Joseph Winterbotham Collection, 1970.426. Image: The Bridgeman Art Library. ©2013 C. Herscovici, London/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

How does Magritte challenge the way we think about a fireplace and a train?

Magritte developed techniques to mimic the things that happen in dreams. Look at the painting of the fireplace and train, to the right. The scene is impossible! And yet, you can probably come up with a story to explain where the train came from and where it is going. In our dreams, strange juxtapositions make sense to us. Here Magritte asks you to make sense of them while you’re awake.

Can you make sense of The Therapist above? Magritte substitutes a birdcage for the ribcage of a man, inviting you to look for similarities between the two. But why does the man wear a hat if he has no head? And how does he sit if there is no chair beneath him? The artist doesn’t provide an answer. Dreams, after all, can’t always be explained.

In The Tomb of the Wrestlers, below, Magritte uses an unnatural scale to disorient you. This could be a normal-size room filled with a giant rose, or a normal-size rose in a room inside a dollhouse. As in a dream, it is open to interpretation.

René Magritte, The Tomb of the Wrestlers, 1960. Oil on canvas, 89x116cm. Private collection, New York. Image: Herscovici/Art Resource, NY. ©2013 C. Herscovici, London/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Is this a giant rose or a tiny room? Why do you think so?

Hidden Meanings

Magritte felt that the titles of his works were just as important as the images themselves. His 1928 The False Mirror, at the top of this page, is a startling painting of an eye. The artist cropped the image tightly around the eye and painted the iris to look like the sky. But why? Magritte’s title references a false mirror. Since we don’t know what a false mirror is, there isn’t a clear way to understand this image and its title.

Using techniques like juxtaposition, altered scale, and language, Magritte explores the ideas behind Surrealism. He pulls viewers like you into his compositions by using rich imagery, but refuses to provide all the answers. In this way, you are part of the work. Your experience in seeing it changes the meaning of each painting.

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