La perspective amoureuse 1936

René Magritte made this painting of a door, painted in watercolor, and it's got this tree-shaped hole that looks out onto another world. It's all about how we see, and how painting can mess with what we think is real. The textures are so delicate, the way the watercolor lets the light through. And that door! It's so meticulously painted to look like wood, but then *wham*, there's this surreal gap. Check out where the blue tree meets the wood of the door. It's a smooth but unexpected change. It makes you think about how everything is connected, even the stuff that seems totally different. Magritte reminds me of Giorgio de Chirico, who created uncanny, dreamlike images. Like them, he leaves you with more questions than answers, which is, maybe, the whole point of art.