Collage 1966

This is an untitled collage by René Magritte, though when it was made is anyone's guess. I imagine Magritte finding these images, cutting and pasting them, not knowing exactly what he's doing. The yellow hand—is it greeting us? Does it make you think of early computer graphics? Or that strange floating head; is it a portrait, or just a detail? And what about that red curtain; is it covering something up or about to reveal a secret? Are those figures on the beach spies or secret agents? It’s like he found these things and put them together, just to see what would happen. I get the feeling that he was inviting the unexpected, trusting his instincts. I can relate to this process. It’s like when I'm painting, and I don’t know what will emerge. And that hand, the curtain, the ocean, the sky, the spies—maybe this is what he saw in his world. He then invites us to see it too.