This is the first image of Rene Magritte four variations of The Lovers. Rene Magritte was a Belgian surrealist artist who painted this image in 1928. He was born in Hainaut, Belgium on November 21, 1898. Magritte was the oldest son of Leopold Magritte, a tailor and textile merchant and Regina. He began his drawing lessons in 1910, when he was only 12 years old. When he was 13, his mother committed suicide. Magritte started his paintings in 1915 and after that, he became known for challenging those who sees them and their view on reality. Rene Magritte died of Pancreatic cancer on August 15, 1967.
This image is about a man and a woman kissing, without seeing each other because they have cloths covering their faces. According to the description of the painting, “The device of using draped cloth or veil to conceal a figure’s identity corresponds to a larger Surrealist interest in masks, disguises, and what lies beyond or beneath visible surfaces.” In other words, this painting demonstrate that there is more than what you can see physically.
The Lovers reflects modernism because it is part of Surrealism. Surrealism is an artistic movement that was led by Andre Breton, a French Poet. Surrealism simply means the superior reality of subconscious. The Lovers represent surrealism because the image is left for others to interpret what is the actual meaning of this painting and not just what they can say about what they see in front of them. This image shows a blind kiss but it is more than just two people kissing while having their face covered. It is about finding the purpose of eliminating what the conscious mind can see and focusing on what the inside of these two individual is like without them using what they can physically see.
As I entered the room full of Surrealistic paintings, The Lovers caught my attention first because it gave me a better understanding of what surrealism is in the first place. I was able to understand that surrealism is finding the deeper meaning of something besides the obvious, which is what you’re seeing. The deeper meaning of this painting is two people kissing without caring about their physical features, instead, they are attracted to each other because of how they feel, and what is inside their persona. The obvious of this image is just two people kissing while being blinded. I personally love this painting because so many people interpret it in many different ways but for me, it means true love. The kind of love that does not care about the outside and only cares about what’s inside and how they feel.
Jo, This is such a compelling and mysterious work! I love how romantic your interpretation of the painting is. Of course, since I am old and cynical, I saw it in a much less idealistic light. I imagined the blindness of the lovers; it seems to me that Magritte is showing how little they actually “see” each other, or the idea that, even in our most intimate relationships, we somehow remain hidden. As you say in your post, the meaning of the work is available for interpretation!
Nice job!
JS
Hey Jo,
If you see a lot of Magritte’s works, he draws his subjects mostly concealed with some sort of drapery or without a face drawn in. This version of The Lovers is #2 out of 4 versions where the same subjects (with the same clothing and covered faces) are painted almost similarly. It is the 4th version of The Lovers that Magritte actually paints their faces, however, he does not include the man’s body. I see it as a way of saying how he is drifting or fading away while he is giving his lover one last but “real” kiss. On Lovers III, the two are facing away while the drapery is still connected to both of their faces. I think The Lovers is a sequence of how distant their relationship is. Perhaps I see it a different way being that I am not a romantic and I am more of a realistic person when it comes to relationships.
-Kimberly 🙂