René Magritte - The Empire of Lights

A dark street at night against a backdrop of a blue sky illuminated by the morning light: with the paradoxical combination of day and night, René Magritte wants to create a shocking effect on the viewer, which, as he himself says, "can surprise and enchant. I call this power poetry". If the disquiet that a work of art provokes is poetry, then this painting is pure poetry. This is also the effect that the title aims to achieve: it is enigmatic, it does not define the image represented and leads the viewer to become alienated from reality.

© CH/ADAGP, Paris 2022