La leçon de musique/Son de cloche (The Music Lesson/The Sound of The Bell)
1968 Etching

#B1020

René Magritte (1898-1967)

La leçon de musique/Son de Cloche (The Music Lesson/The Sound of The Bell)
1968
Etching on Paper
14.25"x14.5" framed, 4"x6" unframed 

Edition 13/150. Edition lower left. This posthumous print was stamp signed "Magritte" with the artist's stamp-signature in the lower right margin. The paper bears the 'Atelier René Magritte' dry stamp in the lower right corner of the paper. It was printed by Georges Visat based on an original color sketch by the artist, at Atelier Georges Visat, Paris in a limited edition of 150 impressions. Framed in a restored vintage mid-century wood frame in cherry using warm white 8-ply archival matting behind conservation clear glass. Excellent vintage condition.

From the estate of Edyth and Phillip Bassett. 

René Magritte was a Belgian surrealist artist. He is well known for his employment of trompe l'oeil (a highly realistic style of painting) and juxtaposing it through methods of surrealism. His witty and conceptual paintings often re-contextualize the familiar, challenging the viewers’ perception of reality. 

His art career began in 1916, when he left home for Brussels, where for the next two years he studied at Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts. Although he was ultimately unimpressed with the institution, he was nonetheless exposed to emerging styles such as cubism and futurism, which significantly altered the direction of his work. Indeed, many of Magritte’s paintings from the early 1920s owe a clear debt to Pablo Picasso. He also worked closely with notable surrealists such as Salvador Dali, Paul Éluard, Max Ernst, and Joan Miró. 

In 1930, he and Georgette returned to Brussels, where he set up an ad agency with his younger brother Paul. Though the demands of their studio left Magritte little time for his own work over the next few years, interest in his paintings began to grow and soon he was selling enough to leave his commercial work behind.

In the late 1930s, Magritte’s newfound popularity resulted in exhibitions of his work in New York City and London. He is noted for his immense influence on Pop Art and Conceptualism. A retrospective of his prolific body of work was recently on view at SFMoma in 2018. His work is also on view year round at The Magritte Museum in Brussels, Belgium, founded in 2009, and home to a permanent and ongoing exhibition of the artists’ work. 

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