Contextual Understanding Rene Magritte:
Rene Magritte was born in Belgium 1898. He attended an art school in Brussels, he worked in commercial advertising to support himself while he experimented with his painting. In the mid 1920s he began to paint in the surrealist style and became known for his witty and thought-providing images and his use of simple graphics, and everyday objects. His most famous art piece is called The Treachery of Images, which is a painting of a pipe and at the bottom is says in French "This is not a pipe." This statement means that the painting itself is not a pipe; it is merely an image of a pipe. |
24 9/16 in x 19 1/2 in (62.4 cm x 49.5 cm)
https://www.masterworksfineart.com/artists/rene-magritte/lithograph/le-blanc-seing-free-hand/id/w-4043 |
Initial response Rene Magritte:
The name of this piece of artwork is called Le Blanc Seige, it was made in 1965 by Rene Magritte. I decided to investigate this artwork because the negative space between the horse and the tree really captured my attention. The first thought and words that came to mind when I saw this artwork was bright, colorful and happy and the was also my reaction. The first thing I noticed was the negative space between the tree and the horse and the tree that has the women drawn on it, because the artist makes us think that the tree is just one tree but it is one tree making another tree. This painting makes me feel like something is missing in my life and there is a hole that need to be filled up. It makes me feel like that because of the negative space and illusion. |
Formal elements Rene Magritte:
This piece of work by Rene is showing a woman in the garden on top of a horse and the position of the horse on the trees is confusing to the audience because there is negative space. The focal point and the most emphasised section of this artwork is the negative space on the horse and the tree. The trees have been depicted by the artist as one of the tree trunks is in front of the horse but its base is behind the horse, this creates an illusion to the audience, since reversal of the illusions is sufficient to produce a consistent image. The set of this artwork is in a garden or a forest that is full of trees and greenery. This artwork illustrates how the mind constructs the impossibility and the mind puts together the elements of the painting together in order for it to make sense. The horse, which is bisected by a patch of background grass. The colours that are used are all bright colours, in the background and the woman and the horse, this makes this painting more engaging to the audience. The only objects used in the background are trees, there isn't any flowers or any other plant apart from trees. This painting makes the audience think, Is the tree in the distance or is it on the foreground? The centre object is the woman and the horse and the other objects are the trees and the shrubs, these objects are arranged very carefully around the the horse and the woman, because there aren't many trees and shrubs present which will make the painting to busy and therefore the audience won't focus on the woman and the horse as much. The artist draws our attention to the horse and the woman because of the colours that are used, they are the most bright and intense colours of the whole painting. Also, because there aren't trees covering them and they are at the front of the painting. The colours on the horse and woman complement the colours of the grass and the trees and this makes more appealing top the eye.
This piece of work by Rene is showing a woman in the garden on top of a horse and the position of the horse on the trees is confusing to the audience because there is negative space. The focal point and the most emphasised section of this artwork is the negative space on the horse and the tree. The trees have been depicted by the artist as one of the tree trunks is in front of the horse but its base is behind the horse, this creates an illusion to the audience, since reversal of the illusions is sufficient to produce a consistent image. The set of this artwork is in a garden or a forest that is full of trees and greenery. This artwork illustrates how the mind constructs the impossibility and the mind puts together the elements of the painting together in order for it to make sense. The horse, which is bisected by a patch of background grass. The colours that are used are all bright colours, in the background and the woman and the horse, this makes this painting more engaging to the audience. The only objects used in the background are trees, there isn't any flowers or any other plant apart from trees. This painting makes the audience think, Is the tree in the distance or is it on the foreground? The centre object is the woman and the horse and the other objects are the trees and the shrubs, these objects are arranged very carefully around the the horse and the woman, because there aren't many trees and shrubs present which will make the painting to busy and therefore the audience won't focus on the woman and the horse as much. The artist draws our attention to the horse and the woman because of the colours that are used, they are the most bright and intense colours of the whole painting. Also, because there aren't trees covering them and they are at the front of the painting. The colours on the horse and woman complement the colours of the grass and the trees and this makes more appealing top the eye.