In a desolate landscape, a bell, a stone monument with a hawk’s head and a brittle-looking leaf-shaped tree are visible. The sunset in the background casts a warm light over the scene. The stone monument is engraved with the word “ROSEAU,” which means “reed” in French, reminiscent of the philosopher Pascal’s description of man as a “thinking reed.” It appears it was also intended as a combination of “oiseau,” meaning bird, and “rose,” the color of the sky. Magritte often tried to mix up the relationships between words and what they referred to. And so in this work, “reed,” which designates man as being something much smaller and weaker than the universe, is engraved in huge letters on a hard stone. Words and images are connected and just as easily disconnected in unexpected ways.
(Minamishima Ko)
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In a desolate landscape, a bell, a stone monument with a hawk’s head and a brittle-looking leaf-shaped tree are visible. The sunset in the background casts a warm light over the scene. The stone monument is engraved with the word “ROSEAU,” which means “reed” in French, reminiscent of the philosopher Pascal’s description of man as a “thinking reed.” It appears it was also intended as a combination of “oiseau,” meaning bird, and “rose,” the color of the sky. Magritte often tried to mix up the relationships between words and what they referred to. And so in this work, “reed,” which designates man as being something much smaller and weaker than the universe, is engraved in huge letters on a hard stone. Words and images are connected and just as easily disconnected in unexpected ways.
(Minamishima Ko)