Les signes du soir 

René Magritte painted ‘Les signes du soir’ with oil on canvas to evoke the signs of the evening. Notice the torn canvas, now functioning as a window onto a landscape complete with a tree and floating spheres. This “window” motif is a recurring theme, seen as far back as ancient Roman frescoes. Artists have often used windows to symbolize insight and a connection between the interior and exterior worlds. Magritte tears this window to force an opening to somewhere unknown. The spheres call to mind the alchemical concept of the prima materia, the formless base of all matter. The juxtaposition between the ordinary and the surreal generates tension, perhaps resonating with Freud’s exploration of the uncanny. The interplay of reality and illusion speaks to a deeper, subconscious desire to question the foundations of our perception, blurring the lines between what is real and what is imagined. The torn canvas is not a one way window, but a cyclical symbol of reality and illusion.