SHARING WITH ME

After Japan, Magritte (1898-1967) came as a bit of a shock. A big retrospective of his works at the Beaubourg. There were no queues when I arrived, the crowds were inside. The Exhibition is called « La Trahison des Images »  Although it has been translated as « The Treachery of Images », I don’t really go along with that at all. What Magritte said about his work is, I feel, far more appropriate. « I am often asked what my painting conceals. Nothing. I paint visible images which evoke something that is incomprehensible. (…) But obviously I cannot prevent people interpreting my canvases. If they prefer walking through walls rather than using the door, what can you expect me to do? » His work is characterized by a series of motifs, that he endlessly arranges and re-arranges. His work is so recognizable that he is one of the rare artists that is not stolen - and if so, as was the case not so long ago, the painting could not be sold and was returned to the museum three years later.