The triumphant march 1947

René Magritte made "The Triumphant March" with oil on canvas, though when exactly is a mystery. The muted palette and blended forms suggest a process of layering, of veiling and unveiling. The surface is pretty smooth, without much impasto, and the figures are built up with subtle gradations of tone. Look how he’s handled the fleshy colours in the central figure – this long, bulbous form that seems to emerge from a high-heeled shoe – it's like he’s animating the inanimate, giving it a grotesque, almost comical life. That carefully rendered moustache is so out of place that it brings a strong element of the absurd to the painting. Magritte's playful approach reminds me a bit of Philip Guston, but with a darker, more surreal twist. Both artists invite us to question our perceptions and to embrace the enigmatic nature of art.