The forbidden world 1949

René Magritte made this oil painting of a mermaid reclining on a couch, called The Forbidden World, sometime in the mid-20th century. There’s a dreaminess to it, right? A kind of underwater haze created through a layering of brushstrokes and pastel colours. I love the way the coral on the lower left vibrates against the ochre ground. The overall surface is rough, uneven, nothing is blended smoothly. The paint handling is not fussy at all, but quite frank. The mermaid's tail, streaked with blues and silvers, is particularly captivating. The painting looks as though it was made quickly, instinctively, capturing a fleeting vision. You know, for me, this piece speaks to the surrealist fascination with the subconscious. In that way, it reminds me of Frida Kahlo’s exploration of identity and transformation, through its embrace of ambiguity. It’s as if both artists are saying, "Here's a world where the real and the imagined blur, where anything is possible."