The present 1939

René Magritte made this oil on canvas painting called 'The Present'. Doesn’t it make you wonder what was going through Magritte’s head, and how his hand moved? I mean, an eagle in a business suit! Like, what do you do with that? The texture of the feathers and the fabric seem to capture different qualities of light and shadow. The sky seems kind of stormy, don’t you think? It sort of blends into the bird's plumage, but with a softness that contrasts with the sharp claws. You feel the coolness of the sky, a sense of brooding, but at the same time it is kind of funny. It reminds me of James Ensor and his fascination with the absurd. Anyway, Magritte is always messing with us, like any good artist should, so that we see things differently. The way he plays with the known and the unknown is what keeps painting alive!