I n La Traversée difficile (1964), René Magritte fractures the boundary between seeing and knowing. A suited figure—anonymous yet familiar—stares out through a single, cyclopean eye, while a shipwreck and a towering bilboquet create an uncanny world where perception unravels.
D rawing from the Surrealist fascination with vision, identity, and mystery, Magritte transforms everyday symbols into something deeply unsettling. The stormy seascape, the anthropomorphized objects, and the eye that both watches and obscures invite us to question not just what we see—but whether we can ever truly understand it. Find out how Magritte’s masterful deconstruction of the human figure and his playful manipulation of familiar forms challenge our most basic assumptions about reality.
La Traversée difficile is just one of many highly anticipated lots offered at Sotheby's Modern Evening Auction, presented in partnership with Celine, held live in New York on 13 May at 7:00 PM EST. Exhibitions in the New York galleries are free and open to the public from 2-13 May.
