Artwork Page for Utopia

Details / Information for Utopia

Utopia

1945

René Magritte

(Belgian, 1898–1967)
Culture
Belgium, 20th century
Medium
watercolor and gouache
Support
Beige(1) wove paper
Measurements
Sheet: 32.1 x 41.8 cm (12 5/8 x 16 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Lockwood Thompson 1992.275
Catalogue raisonné
Sylvester 1191
Copyright
© C. Herscovici / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

René Magritte made an almost identical painting around the same time that he completed this drawing.

Description

René Magritte was among the leading figures of the Surrealist movement, whose work emphasized dreams, the subconscious, and a break from reason and logic during the early 20th century. Magritte, in particular, often situated realistic imagery within ridiculous or unusual situations in order to question perception. Here, a rose grows on a rocky island amid a vast sea, set against a blue sky filled with large white clouds. By situating the flower within a barren and inhospitable setting, Magritte invites the viewer to question its purpose and survival. Created as World War II came to an end, the enigmatic image could symbolize a new beginning, although Magritte avoided assigning it a specific meaning.
A watercolor and gouache painting of a singular pink rose growing out of the barren brown ground of a rock outcropping. The rose and ground are surrounded by the ocean, all under a blue sky with a few white clouds.

Utopia

1945

René Magritte

(Belgian, 1898–1967)
Belgium, 20th century

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