The voice of blood 1948

René Magritte painted this enigmatic image, called "The Voice of Blood," using oil on canvas. We see a tree trunk presented as a kind of proscenium, stage curtains pulled back to reveal a night scene on the left, and then a strange growth on the tree itself, an architectural model, and a sphere. Magritte was a Belgian artist working in the Surrealist mode. He and his peers were deeply interested in the power of dreams and the irrational. This picture may represent an attempt to break down the traditional values of Western art that had been developed within institutions like the art academy. Magritte would have been familiar with those values and expectations. The sphere and architectural model seem to grow organically from the tree, suggesting a connection between culture and nature. It is the historian’s task to consider not only what art is made, but how institutions and traditions shape its production and reception. This image certainly gives us much to consider.