Bather between Light and Darkness 1935

Here is the story for the audio guide: René Magritte made this painting, Bather between Light and Darkness, with oil on canvas. It’s like he's setting up a scene, not quite real, but not totally dreamlike either. The way the paint is smoothed out, almost like there's no texture at all, it's so different from how I usually work, all messy and layered. Everything is softly rendered, like the light. The tones in the woman's body create an interplay of light and shadow, which gives her a three-dimensional feel. Then your eye goes to that black orb, sitting like a full stop or heavy thought right in the foreground. There's something about the contrast of the black against the skin tones that pulls you in. It's like he’s challenging what painting can be. Like Giorgio de Chirico, Magritte is trying to find a new language of art. He asks, what is real, and what is just in our heads? The piece feels like a question mark, hanging in the air.