LA BELLE LURETTE 1965

René Magritte made this disquieting oil painting, La Belle Lurette, in the tradition of the fine arts. The artist engages with the medium of paint to produce an unsettling image, in smooth gradients and thin layers that create a seamless, almost mechanical surface. The human eye is rendered with precision, with an unreal quality that is more like an industrial product than an organic object. Similarly, the pawn-like figure seems mass-produced and soulless. The brushstrokes are concealed, resulting in an object that feels both alien and familiar. Magritte uses a specific technique here, that he would use to generate a sense of surrealism and wonder. He renders the familiar strange, which forces us to reconsider our relationship with the world. There is a social commentary here that has to do with dehumanization and alienation. Paint, canvas, labor, and the artist's touch combine to give the painting its evocative power, asking us to look beyond the surface of things and understand the deeper significance of materials, making, and context in understanding the full meaning of an artwork.