The Key to the Fields 1936

René Magritte made this painting, "The Key to the Fields", with oil on canvas. It's a trick; it looks like a view out of a window but there is a large pane of broken glass in front of it. Magritte’s surfaces are smooth, like signs, which is to say he is very much in control of the image. It's so neat you don't see much evidence of the artist's hand. But notice that the broken glass reflects what's outside, but the shapes don't line up with the background image. That disconnect is a clue to the riddle. The outside world, though seemingly "real," is as artificial as the shards of glass. Magritte is playing with layers of representation. Like a visual koan, "The Key to the Fields" doesn't offer a simple solution. Instead, it invites us to question the nature of reality and illusion. Think of Giorgio de Chirico and the still, dreamlike landscapes he made before Magritte, as these kinds of images work on our minds in similar ways. Art is always talking to art, and there is no final word, only questions.