The Lovers 1928
René Magritte – The Lovers 1928
René François Ghislain Magritte was born in Lessines, Belgium on November 21, 1898. His childhood consisted of growing up facing harsh realities such as bearing with his mother’s suicide, and frequent traveling because of his father’s business. Painting started as an experiment while he worked in commercial advertising to support himself. He was known for being a surrealist artist because his art was a take on objects and imagery in daily life. Pablo Picasso was also one of his inspirations for his art in the 1920’s.
The Lovers 1928 is an oil on canvas printing. From the printing, it evokes a sense of mystery as to the two lovers faces being covered. The color palette is quite neutral but heavily focused on greys. These colors set of a depressing mood and atmosphere surrounding the setting of the painting but also a sense of mystery. The cloth can be seen as a barrier between the two and contributes to surrealism interests such as the act of concealing, disguising, thinking outside the box. Magritte intended for the painting to be open ended, to remain as a mystery.
This work also reflects the aesthetic preferences associated with Modernism such as expression. Rather than being told what to think, Magritte wanted his art to bring out the creativity of expression from others when viewing his work. By having his art open ended, it allowed endless interpretations as to what the painting is about. Some thought that the cloth wrapped around the lovers was referencing his mother’s suicide since he witnessed her drown with a towel over her, and others viewed it as forbidden love. Being able to think for yourself, rather than following traditional beliefs was a major part of Modernism.
There were many pieces in the museum that were abstract but I couldn’t exactly pinpoint where it was leading towards. However, The Lovers 1928 was a piece that didn’t exactly have a single answer but that was what got me interested. Many works of art have multiple meanings or interpretations of them but I think the surrealism drew me towards this piece. As someone who enjoys the romance genre, the art reminded me of it, but also a sense of tragedy.
A question I have about this work is if the artist purposely covered both the man and the woman’s face to promote equality by chance? Women’s rights were limited at the time, but men had power, yet the man is still covered in the photo.
Source: https://www.biography.com/people/ren%C3%A9-magritte-9395363
Kathy, Like you, I am drawn to this strange and mysterious painting by Magritte. I like that you talk about the way that the painting emphasizes concealment, mystery, and open-endedness and agree that those could be associated with Modernism. One thing I wish you had included is a discussion of what Surrealism is and what makes this a surrealist work. As for the questions you raise at the end of your post, I don’t think that Magritte is trying to make any kind of social or political statement here. To me the image seems to be more about the human encounter being depicted. Maybe this is why you found something tragic in the painting? These lovers are essentially masked; they are kissing, but we know that they remain unknown to each other and unseen. There is something sad about that. He’s taken something that should be intimate and depicted in a way that thematizes estrangement, hiddenness, isolation, etc…. Nice job!
JS