Rain: Brussels --- Day 15/15

Walk: Short, Rain

Distance/Activity: 1.5 miles, 1 hour Yoga Room

Rene Magritte (Belgian) , Golconda, 1953, oil on canvas

So, if you find yourself confused by exactly what Rene Magritte is communicating in his art, artist mission accomplished.  The Belgian painter was a mystery writer at heart, a devoted follower of the French crime series Fantomas and a prolific writer in genres stretching from poems, film scripts to manifestos. Beyond these real world activities, he believed deeply in mystery itself, at least once saying "Art evokes the mystery without which the world would not exist."

Are the 'raindrop men' in Golconda above rising, falling, just hovering in mid air?  Why are they dressed as the same Belgian businessman complete with bowler hat (one his real life trademarks)?  What is Magritte saying here?

Like everyone, Ciwt doesn't know, but she has some guesses what Magritte may have had in mind. He had remained in Brussels during World War II during the nearly five years it was occupied by the Germans. Daily life was an ongoing surreal experience of his countrypeople going about ordinary business as usual while arrests, executions, checkpoints, credential checks, betrayals were highly unusual menancing and deadly norms  Perhaps he is alluding to these times.  Also, even though a communist in his thinking, maybe was aware of the sameness, lack of individuality of that system.   Also Magritte may have been thinking of Golgonda, an actual ruined city in 14th to 17th centuries India.

Or maybe he didn't have any of these things on his mind.  He was about evoking mystery, not solving it. Like a good mystery writer, he invites his viewers to be a detectives using clear, common images to create puzzles that spark curosity, humor, and imagination without needing any complex art-world knowledge.  Even if you don't 'understand' them, there is humor, fun, wonder on his canvasses, and, like Ciwt, you are invited to find your own meaning.