Secondary Research
16.01.21
Surrealism helped to take away restrictions caused by society, revolution and rebellion was
such an important and sought after thing in the late 1920s. Surrealists allied with the French
Communist Party, seeking to be the artistic and cultural arm. Surrealist artists traversed
through cities without a plan and found moments by chance. They did what Breton had
dubbed “reality”, where one's internal reality merges with their physical reality.
“Le monde au temps des surréalistes" distorted map - Shifts in scale, everything is distorted,
an anti-colonial diatribe removes colonial powers to create a world dominated by cultures
untouched by western influence and participates in the communist experiment.
01.03.21
➔ Liked to think about reality, the meanings of things possibly offering perspectives that
would challenge the consolidated perception of the world
➔ Liked representing everyday objects in new contexts aiming to make us think about
what we take for granted
The Son of Man
“Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to know what is hidden by what we
see” Rene Magritte
➔ To see something, something else must be hidden
➔ In modern-day terms, it could refer to media covering things up
● surrealism, coming out of WW1, surrealists took common scenes, objects and figures
and mixed them in unsettling ways
● Magritte was cerebral and witty rather than emotional
● common symbols- the bowler hat, the apple, the castle, the rock, the window and the
other ordinary objects
● he was enthusiastic about the sea and the sky
Magritte’s meanings behind his paintings 08.03.21
Golconda
● men falling from the sky. They are all wearing the same clothes and falling in the
same way. It represents Magritte’s exploration of individuality set against the
collective and how it is easily lost.
● These days everyone wants to be segregated into categories, the need for a label
that is more niche than simply human. Alternatively, we all strive to be a ‘perfect’
version of a human which is defined by media and impossible standards that make
us all become a similar version of each other e.g. crazy diet plans to fit the ‘normal’
shape, all women must look like this to fit in (links to the painting ‘Rape’).
False mirror
● insinuates how human vision is limited, mirrors reflect physical things but the eye is
a symbol of selective and subjective personal view
● Similar to my previous idea, we see a screwed version of the world depending on
what we desire. For example, many of us see ‘fat’ as imperfect and something that
must be changed but in the victorian era ‘fat’ was considered to mean wealthy and
happy whereas ‘thin’ was thought of as being poor and miserable. In fact, ‘fat’ is just
, a descriptive word the same as saying someone has brown or blonde hair. Society
has made us have a connotation of the word ‘fat’ that links to needing to change
oneself to be a better human.
Personal values
● a room full of familiar objects all blown out of proportion #
● (Links to the False Mirror above)
12.03.21
The Listening Room
● the apple came to represent the perceptual tension between the hidden and the
visible. “There is an interest between the hidden and what the visible does not tell
us”- Magritte.
15.03.21
Rape
● the face of the woman has been replaced with a torso and waist of a woman which
suggests how men see women
● When Magritte was 14, his mother drowned herself. The mother figure is presented a
lot in his paintings.
● The idea of being an individual is very important in today’s society which is
something Magritte feared in his generation was being lost. This shows how the
world has developed since Magritte’s time.
26.03.21
The Invention of Life
● two female figures, one shrouded in grey fabric, the other eerily stares at the viewer
● evokes the fragility of human life
● it has been noted that the female figure resembles the artist's mother
The Endearing truth
● “We have seen Leonardo's Last Supper, very badly damaged by time and the
American bombings. The Last Supper gives me an idea for a painting”- Rene
Magritte’s letter to Bosman
● This painting was done shortly before his death when he knew he was going to die of
cancer. The table is painted on the wall but there are no disciples or Jesus
Elective Affinities
● this was based on the Johann Goethe's human chemical theory
● a person's ideas are hatched into a concrete world that is enclosed by external forces
● although we may feel free, there are always instances or forces that we cannot
control
● human beings may feel encaged due to their inability to take full control of their life
● Due to stereotypes and prejudice, not everyone is limited by themselves but by their
environment. For example, POC being targeted by the police. They may feel
16.01.21
Surrealism helped to take away restrictions caused by society, revolution and rebellion was
such an important and sought after thing in the late 1920s. Surrealists allied with the French
Communist Party, seeking to be the artistic and cultural arm. Surrealist artists traversed
through cities without a plan and found moments by chance. They did what Breton had
dubbed “reality”, where one's internal reality merges with their physical reality.
“Le monde au temps des surréalistes" distorted map - Shifts in scale, everything is distorted,
an anti-colonial diatribe removes colonial powers to create a world dominated by cultures
untouched by western influence and participates in the communist experiment.
01.03.21
➔ Liked to think about reality, the meanings of things possibly offering perspectives that
would challenge the consolidated perception of the world
➔ Liked representing everyday objects in new contexts aiming to make us think about
what we take for granted
The Son of Man
“Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to know what is hidden by what we
see” Rene Magritte
➔ To see something, something else must be hidden
➔ In modern-day terms, it could refer to media covering things up
● surrealism, coming out of WW1, surrealists took common scenes, objects and figures
and mixed them in unsettling ways
● Magritte was cerebral and witty rather than emotional
● common symbols- the bowler hat, the apple, the castle, the rock, the window and the
other ordinary objects
● he was enthusiastic about the sea and the sky
Magritte’s meanings behind his paintings 08.03.21
Golconda
● men falling from the sky. They are all wearing the same clothes and falling in the
same way. It represents Magritte’s exploration of individuality set against the
collective and how it is easily lost.
● These days everyone wants to be segregated into categories, the need for a label
that is more niche than simply human. Alternatively, we all strive to be a ‘perfect’
version of a human which is defined by media and impossible standards that make
us all become a similar version of each other e.g. crazy diet plans to fit the ‘normal’
shape, all women must look like this to fit in (links to the painting ‘Rape’).
False mirror
● insinuates how human vision is limited, mirrors reflect physical things but the eye is
a symbol of selective and subjective personal view
● Similar to my previous idea, we see a screwed version of the world depending on
what we desire. For example, many of us see ‘fat’ as imperfect and something that
must be changed but in the victorian era ‘fat’ was considered to mean wealthy and
happy whereas ‘thin’ was thought of as being poor and miserable. In fact, ‘fat’ is just
, a descriptive word the same as saying someone has brown or blonde hair. Society
has made us have a connotation of the word ‘fat’ that links to needing to change
oneself to be a better human.
Personal values
● a room full of familiar objects all blown out of proportion #
● (Links to the False Mirror above)
12.03.21
The Listening Room
● the apple came to represent the perceptual tension between the hidden and the
visible. “There is an interest between the hidden and what the visible does not tell
us”- Magritte.
15.03.21
Rape
● the face of the woman has been replaced with a torso and waist of a woman which
suggests how men see women
● When Magritte was 14, his mother drowned herself. The mother figure is presented a
lot in his paintings.
● The idea of being an individual is very important in today’s society which is
something Magritte feared in his generation was being lost. This shows how the
world has developed since Magritte’s time.
26.03.21
The Invention of Life
● two female figures, one shrouded in grey fabric, the other eerily stares at the viewer
● evokes the fragility of human life
● it has been noted that the female figure resembles the artist's mother
The Endearing truth
● “We have seen Leonardo's Last Supper, very badly damaged by time and the
American bombings. The Last Supper gives me an idea for a painting”- Rene
Magritte’s letter to Bosman
● This painting was done shortly before his death when he knew he was going to die of
cancer. The table is painted on the wall but there are no disciples or Jesus
Elective Affinities
● this was based on the Johann Goethe's human chemical theory
● a person's ideas are hatched into a concrete world that is enclosed by external forces
● although we may feel free, there are always instances or forces that we cannot
control
● human beings may feel encaged due to their inability to take full control of their life
● Due to stereotypes and prejudice, not everyone is limited by themselves but by their
environment. For example, POC being targeted by the police. They may feel
