Art Collections Online
The Empty Mask
MAGRITTE, Rene (1898 - 1967)
Date: 1928
Media: oil on canvas
Size: 81.2 x 116.2 cm
Acquired: 1973; Purchase
Accession Number: NMW A 2051
In his essay 'Words and Images', published in 1929, the Belgian Surrealist Magritte observed that each image 'suggests that there are others behind it'. Viewed through a freestanding frame of irregular shape, these images are a sky, a lead curtain festooned with sleigh bells, a house fa?ade, a sheet of paper cut-outs, a forest and a fire. The title evokes the fear of the invisible which pervades the artist's work and reflects the Surrealists' fascination with the subconscious.
This work is currently on display:
Gallery 12
National Museum Cardiff, level 4
Stairs up
Stairs down
Lift
Leave a comment