The realm of lights
| The realm of lights |
|---|
| René Magritte , 1954 |
| Oil on canvas |
| 195.4 x 131.2 cm |
| The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation / Peggy Guggenheim Collection , Venice Link to the picture |
The Kingdom of Lights (French: L'Empire des lumières ) or The Rule of Light is the title of a series of oil paintings and gouaches by the Belgian surrealist René Magritte . The best-known works on the subject date from 1949 to 1964.
description
The series of paintings, of which there are numerous versions, each depicts a supposed night piece that is painted in a naturalistic manner. It shows the evening or night scene of a street with a house whose windows on the upper floor are illuminated. Directly in front of the building, in the lower center of the painting, is a street lamp whose rays of light fall on the white plastered house wall with green shutters. Behind the house is a dark wooded area. On the left, in front of the building, there is a large tree that dominates the picture. In an earlier, landscape format version of the painting from 1950 you can see a row of houses and a square tower at the point of the tree in the background. The nighttime mood, kept in a dark color palette, is contrasted by a midday pastel-blue summer sky with white cumulus clouds, which reduces the motif to absurdity . In other versions of the picture, there is a lake in the foreground that reflects the house with the lantern. The paintings are each signed with "Magritte" on the lower right and on the back.
background
Magritte said he owed the title to his friend, poet Paul Nougé (1895–1967), who was also a Belgian surrealist:
“In the realm of lights I have given various ideas, namely a nocturnal landscape and a sky as we see it during the day. The landscape makes one think of night and the sky of day. I find this simultaneity of day and night has the power to surprise and enchant. I call this force poetry . "
Provenance
There are numerous versions of the work with the same title by Magritte, who dealt with the subject until the end of his life. The three best-known paintings, created between 1949 and 1964, are currently in the Museum of Modern Art , the Peggy Guggenheim Collection , and the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels . Magritte also made gouaches for the motif. The painting in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels was acquired directly from the artist.
literature
- David Sylvester : Magritte. Parkland, Cologne 2009, ISBN 978-3-89340-081-2 (German translation by Maria Paukert).
- Christoph Grunenberg and Darren Pih (ed.): Magritte from A to Z . Catalog for the exhibition René Magritte. The pleasure principle in the Albertina , Vienna, November 9, 2011 to February 26, 2012. Belser, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-7630-2599-2
Illustrations
- ↑ René Magritte: The Empire of Light, II , oil on canvas, 78.8 × 99.1 cm, 1950, Museum of Modern Art collection
- ↑ René Magritte: The Empire of Lights , oil on canvas, 146 × 114 cm, 1954, Royal Museums of Fine Arts, Brussels
Individual evidence
- ^ According to the German translation in David Sylvester: Magritte. P. 393
- ↑ a b René Magritte - Het rijk der lichten. opac-fabritius.be, accessed on March 17, 2013 .
- ↑ René Magritte - Art Quotes. Retrieved March 17, 2013 .