René Magritte

Lou Cosyns, Brussels (acquired from the artist in 1962)
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1964

David Sylvester (ed.), Sarah Whitfield and Michael Raeburn, René Magritte. Catalogue Raisonné, Gouaches, Temperas, Watercolours and Papier Collés 1918-1967, Antwerp, 1994, vol. IV, p. 238, no. 1501, illustrated

Executed in 1962, L’automate belongs to a celebrated series of works executed in oil and gouache featuring such characteristic elements of Magritte’s later work as the cloud-curtain, the sleigh bell and fire. In reference to this series of works, Magritte was to explain the imagery of the curtain as “sky” in the following terms: “le ciel est en forme de rideau parce qu’il nous cache quelque chose… Nous sommes entourés de rideaux” (René Magritte (exhibition catalogue), Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Oostend, 1990, p. 220).

However, at the same time, the painter was also reluctant to fully decipher the meaning of his pictorial language. As David Sylvester wrote: “Magritte wanted his pictures to be looked at, not looked into, wanted their mystery to be confronted, not interpreted …” (David Sylvester, Magritte, London 1992, p. 318). The present work can therefore be seen as an exemplary proof of the artist’s mastery of the medium and his ability as a gifted draughtsman. In L’automate, he created a surreal world that does not need to be interpreted but stands for itself, in all its beauty and mystery. 

FIG. 1 René Magritte, La Joconde, 1960, oil on canvas, Private Collection