Advertisment for "Norine" 1925

René Magritte made this advertisement for "Norine" using watercolor. It has this wonderful, casual feel about it. There's a sense of something being blocked out with flat color and the way the dress design incorporates different shapes and patterns within it – it's all very playful! I mean, look at how the blocks of color create a sense of depth, or perhaps it's a lack of depth? It's hard to tell. The whole painting is flat, almost like paper cutouts, a child's collage. But then you notice the textures and washes, especially in the background. It's almost like two different approaches, two separate styles of drawing, brought together. This reminds me of someone like Francis Picabia who was equally interested in image making and representation as a tool. It's about thinking through what an image is and how we perceive it.