Les pas perdus (The Wasted Footsteps)

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Magritte was a leading practitioner of surrealism, a movement that explored the unconscious, dreams, sexuality and fantasy. In his paintings, he often transformed animate and inanimate objects into stone, heightening awareness of the passage from life to death and usefulness to uselessness. Magritte chose the title of this melancholy painting only after it was finished. It was meant to offer a poetic perspective, not describe the image. He claimed, “What I think about constantly and strikingly, is the mystery of life. That, you cannot represent. You can only evoke it.”

Keywords

Painting
Surrealism
Birds
Belgium
Mountains
Metaphor