The domain of Arnheim 1938

René Magritte painted *The domain of Arnheim* with oil on canvas. Imagine Magritte beginning with a vision, a dream, and then, like a stonemason, building this mountain range piece by piece. Look at the muted blues, the cool whites, and the stony grays. They are laid down in such a way that the mountain looks both solid and strangely… soft. What would it be like to climb that mountain? The texture is smooth, almost unreal, as if the painting itself is a kind of dream. I wonder if Magritte felt like a sculptor, carving form out of paint as he built up the mass of the mountain. What was he thinking as he painted? I wonder if, like me, he found the painting process a way to see, think, and experience the world. The ambiguity in Magritte's paintings, the way he leaves things open to interpretation, reminds me that artists are constantly in conversation. His painting prompts us to see the world with new eyes and imagine endless possibilities.