Magritte / Renoir. Surrealism in Full Sunlight, Exhibition, Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris: 19 May-19 July 2021

This is archived material. It is for reference purposes only.

An exhibition exploring René Magritte’s "Renoir Period", after extensive inspiration of Auguste Renoir on this still largely unknown chapter of Magritte’s work.

Following several events in the Second World War, Magritte came to view himself as a prophet of happiness and of the return of peace: "…the bright side of life would be the area that I would explore. By this I mean all the traditional array of delightful things: women, birds, flowers, trees and an atmosphere of happiness. […] a quite powerful charm has now replaced the disquieting poetry I used to strive for in my paintings" Magritte wrote to Paul Éluard in 1941.

This 'solar' style lead to the production of around 50 paintings and a considerable number of drawings. Magritte considered his "Renoir Period" as an important artistic exploration, and this exhibition brings 100 of Magritte's works from this period, expressing the imminence of war and disaster. These are exhibited alongside Renoir masterpieces, to give an idea of the influence on these works.

 René Magritte (1898-1967), La Préméditation, 1943 Huile sur toile, 55 × 46 cm. Collection particulière. © Photothèque R. Magritte / Adagp Images, Paris, 2021
René Magritte (1898-1967), La Préméditation, 1943 Huile sur toile, 55 × 46 cm. Collection particulière. © Photothèque R. Magritte / Adagp Images, Paris, 2021
 Rene Magritte, Le Present, 1938, ADAGP, 2020 Paris
Rene Magritte, Le Present, 1938, ADAGP, 2020 Paris

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