The domain of Arnheim 1938

René Magritte made ‘The Domain of Arnheim’ using oil on canvas. Look at the way Magritte uses color to build up this mountain range, those blues and whites almost feel like they're breathing. The process is so clear, like he's inviting us into the studio to watch him figure it out. There’s a real push and pull in the material aspects of this painting, a tension between what’s there and what isn't. The surface seems smooth but the textures of the mountain are almost tangible, and that’s what gets me. Take a look at the peak that forms the shape of the bird’s head – it’s so subtly done, you might almost miss it. It’s like he’s playing with our perception, asking us to question what we see, and how we see it. Magritte reminds me of de Chirico, another master of the uncanny, they both create these spaces that are both familiar and deeply unsettling, where the ordinary becomes extraordinary. And that, to me, is the magic of art – its ability to hold ambiguity, to resist easy answers, and to keep us looking.