Sotheby’s will offer one of Rene Magritte’s earliest surrealist paintings in its October 19 Modernities sale in Paris.
The unsettling piece is titled Le Toit du Monde (1926).
A year earlier, Magritte had made the acquaintance of Paul Nouge – a pioneering Belgian surrealist writer – who had profoundly influenced the direction of his work.
Magritte's work is designed to unsettle
As well as being a poet, Nouge worked in a laboratory and was interested in the ability of the magnifying glass to create landscapes out of tiny objects.
That idea is reflected in this work, which has an organic, biological feel.
Magritte is one of the most influential figures in art history, which is reflected in recent prices for his work.
In March, his La Corde Sensible sold for a record £15.2m ($18.9m) in London.
This piece is expected to make $1.5m-2.3m.
We’re selling this extraordinary signature from the biggest name in 20th century art.
Meanwhile Claude Monet’s Marine (1882) looks poised to achieve $1.1m-1.7m.
He painted the canvas on the Normandy coast. As Monet moves into his late period, the people and signs of human habitation begin to disappear from his canvases.
Nature takes centre stage.
The present lot was painted around a year before Monet moved to the house in Giverny, which would be the site of his most celebrated works – the Water Lilies.
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