Annunciation 1930

René Magritte painted "Annunciation" using oil on canvas, a traditional material for the surrealist movement, but there is nothing particularly traditional about the subject matter. Note how the canvas has been manipulated to enhance the illusion, which is to say, not manipulated at all. There are no expressive brushstrokes, no impasto, no visible sign of the artist's hand. Instead, Magritte sought to create a window onto another world, one which appears with perfect clarity. The result emphasizes the inherent qualities of the materials depicted, such as the weight of the stone figures and the reflective nature of the metallic spheres. While the work seems to de-emphasize craft, this is precisely the point. Surrealist art often seeks to undermine the values associated with labor and conventional artistic skill. The aim is to access the subconscious, to create images that are not bound by the constraints of the everyday world. The 'skill' lies in accessing a free form of expression, not in the act of painting itself.