Mental complacency 1950

René Magritte painted "Mental Complacency" using oil on canvas, and it's a piece that really messes with your sense of space and meaning. Look how Magritte builds this wall out of solid blocks, right? The texture is palpable, you can almost feel the grit of the stone. Then he throws in these openings—one with a tree, the other with water and a flickering flame. It’s a real hodgepodge of imagery. I find myself trying to figure out how it all connects, what the logic is, but maybe that’s the point. There's no obvious connection between the cool tree and the warm flame. Magritte is often compared to Giorgio de Chirico, both surrealists using a similar vocabulary of imagery that opens up an imaginative space of philosophical reflection, questioning the nature of reality. "Mental Complacency" dares us to embrace the unknown and to revel in the art of questioning itself.