The philosophy in the bedroom 1962

This uncanny painting was made by René Magritte, but we don’t know exactly when. The pale blue, slightly creased nightdress is hung against a wood-paneled background. Like a distorted doll, two yellow orbs replace the breasts, with a smattering of blond hair located lower down. It’s a rather perverse still life. Magritte’s deadpan style seems to anticipate the readymades of artists such as Sarah Lucas. He creates a painting that is both funny and slightly disturbing. I wonder what he was thinking? Was he having fun? Is there a sense of disgust? Is he mocking the male gaze? Painting is a way of questioning things, I suppose, challenging the very nature of representation and perception. Magritte messes with our heads through the visual pun, creating an endless loop of questions and possibilities, and playing with identity. We might consider it within a history of the abject body, from artists like Paul McCarthy and Mike Kelley, to Louise Bourgeois and Alina Szapocznikow.