The man in the bowler hat is a regular feature of paintings by René Magritte. Aside from the outline of the man’s body and his facial parts such as his eyes, nose and lips, the rest of the picture is occupied by a landscape of forest and mountains. Apparently he asked one of his friends to decide the title. Can you see anything else mysterious about it? It’s almost like Magritte deliberately set out to test what might make his picture appear mysterious: reversing the background and foreground, leaving the title up to someone else, and so on. The secrets to creating a mystery are captured in the painting. It is both a mystery and a solution, and it’s this duality that feeds Magritte’s charm.
(Minamishima Ko)
The man in the bowler hat is a regular feature of paintings by René Magritte. Aside from the outline of the man’s body and his facial parts such as his eyes, nose and lips, the rest of the picture is occupied by a landscape of forest and mountains. Apparently he asked one of his friends to decide the title. Can you see anything else mysterious about it? It’s almost like Magritte deliberately set out to test what might make his picture appear mysterious: reversing the background and foreground, leaving the title up to someone else, and so on. The secrets to creating a mystery are captured in the painting. It is both a mystery and a solution, and it’s this duality that feeds Magritte’s charm.
(Minamishima Ko)