Pure reason 1948

René Magritte made this painting, Pure Reason, with oil on canvas. He set up a world where trees are painted cobalt blue and stage curtains are the colour of dried blood. I can just imagine Magritte carefully layering and blending the paint to achieve that surreal, dreamlike quality. The colour palette and the juxtaposition of objects, like the horse bust next to the landscape, evoke a feeling of mystery and intrigue. It's like he’s inviting us to question the relationship between reality and representation. The juxtaposition of the large horse head in the foreground and the tiny horse rider in the distance – both rendered in muted tones – it’s like a riddle waiting to be solved. What did Magritte think of de Chirico, or Ernst? Surrealism is a hotbed of cross-pollination! What a conversation between artists, across time.