La Traversée difficile 

René Magritte painted "La Traversée difficile" using oil on canvas, creating a juxtaposition that challenges our perceptions. The painting is divided into distinct horizontal zones. The foreground is dominated by stylized, eye-topped balusters in cool, muted tones. These forms are strangely animate, their gaze directed out toward a turbulent seascape. The middle ground depicts a storm-tossed sea, rendered with vigorous brushstrokes and a palette of greys and whites. This contrasts sharply with the controlled forms in the foreground. To the left, a vertical band of deep red curtain introduces a theatrical element, heightening the sense of artifice and visual layering. Magritte disrupts the conventional understanding of space and perspective. The balusters, seemingly solid and tangible, are given an unsettling, surreal quality through the addition of eyes. This challenges fixed meanings and engages new ways of thinking about representation. The curtain's presence further complicates the relationship between the interior and exterior, reality and illusion. Ultimately, the painting's power lies in its formal structure, in how Magritte uses composition and symbolism to destabilize established visual categories.