L’OVATION 1962

René Magritte made this painting, L’Ovation, with oil on canvas, and what strikes me first is how flat everything is. It’s like he’s denying us any sense of depth, but then teasing us with these curtains that look like they could be drawn back. Magritte was all about playing with perception, and you can see it in the brushwork here. It’s so smooth, almost like a sign painter’s touch. But then you notice the sky. It's painted with these soft, feathery strokes, which make the clouds feel almost touchable. Look closely at the central panel, at how the blue of the sky continues seamlessly from the background into the cloud-filled panel. It’s like a hole has been cut in the painting, revealing another world just behind the surface. That’s Magritte for you, always questioning what’s real and what’s not. He’s definitely having a conversation with de Chirico, but turning up the volume. It's this kind of playful ambiguity that makes art so endlessly fascinating, right?