Le baiser c. 1957

This is René Magritte’s, Le Baiser, made with oil on canvas. Look at how Magritte builds up the sky using these thin, almost transparent layers of paint. You can almost feel him working on this, gently coaxing these bands of color to life. It's like he's not just painting, but slowly discovering this twilight world. The blue bird is so clearly delineated, that it suggests a stencil. And within the bird’s body, the moon and stars are scattered like celestial confetti. The application here isn’t trying to hide itself. You can see the edges of the brushstrokes. This reminds me of Joan Miró, who also painted dreams. Both understood that art is an ongoing conversation, a space where ambiguity and multiple interpretations are not only welcome but embraced. I think in the end, a painting like this resists closure. It wants you to feel its openness.