Les compagnons de la peur 1942

René Magritte’s uncanny oil painting, *Les Compagnons de la peur*, presents a gathering of owls amidst rocks and mountains, painted in a muted, almost melancholic palette. I like to think about his process, building up the surface with thin layers, almost like glazing, to create a smooth, dreamlike finish. There is a sense of stillness and surreal calm, where owls stand upright, emerging from lush, green foliage. I can imagine Magritte pondering the juxtaposition of nature and artifice. There is a funny repetition of shapes, where the bodies of the owls mimic the forms of the leaves, blurring the line between the organic and the constructed. Are these owls turning into plants? Or plants turning into owls? Or, you know, maybe he just thought it would look cool to mess with our expectations. And maybe it is about fear? The fear of becoming part of the landscape? That's the thing about painting, right? It's an invitation to see the world in a new light, to question what we think we know, and to embrace the mystery of it all.