The Eternal Evidence 1930

This painting of body parts in golden frames against a dark background was made by René Magritte and is called The Eternal Evidence. It must have been so odd to make this. I can imagine Magritte’s interest in the strangeness of the body, and his belief that painting should challenge our perceptions of reality. The woman's body is divided into five framed sections, floating in this velvety blackness. It is a surrealist dismemberment, a floating series of objects that once assembled, make up a human. Magritte painted with thin, even strokes, trying to make the real look unreal. It reminds me of the early surrealists, like de Chirico, who also played with the uncanny and the fragmented. We keep thinking about the body in parts, when it wants to be a whole. It makes me think about how art can make us feel uneasy, but also help us see the world in new ways.