- 78
René Magritte
Estimate
150,000 - 200,000 GBP
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Description
- René Magritte
- LA LÉGENDE DES SIÈCLES
- signed Magritte (lower left); signed René Magritte and titled on the reverse
- gouache on paper
- 35 by 26.5cm.
- 13 3/4 by 10 3/8 in.
Provenance
The Obelisk Gallery, London
Acquired from the above by the father of the present owner in 1960
Acquired from the above by the father of the present owner in 1960
Exhibited
London, The Obelisk Gallery, Magritte: Paintings, Drawings, Gouaches, 1961
Catalogue Note
Of this enigmatic and powerful composition, the artist's friend Marcel Mariën commented: 'Before beginning its career in the service of mankind, the chair rests in its own bosom' (quoted in David Sylvester (ed.), Sarah Whitfield & Michael Raeburn, René Magritte. Catalogue Raisonné. Oil Paintings, Objects and Bronzes 1949-1967, London, 1993, vol. III, p. 152). A dialogue is established between the monumental stone age chair, presented as a natural phenomenon, and the tiny human-made version seated upon it. The title, drawn from Victor Hugo, was first used by Magritte in 1945, who later appended it to this subject in 1958 (ibid., p. 152).