{"product_id":"le-carnaval-du-sage-by-rene-magritte","title":"Le carnaval du sage by René Magritte","description":"René Magritte\u003cbr\u003e 1898-1967 | Belgian \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eLe carnaval du sage\u003cbr\u003e (The Sage’s Carnival)\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Signed “Magritte” (lower right); titled and dated \"Le carnaval du sage 1947\" (en verso)\u003cbr\u003e Oil on canvas \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The enigmatic paintings of René Magritte have become some of the most familiar and celebrated of the Surrealist movement. Among the most influential of the Surrealist painters of the 20th century, Magritte is an artist of international renown, as beloved for his popular appeal as he is for the psychological intensity of his works. The present oil on canvas, entitled \u003cem\u003eLe carnaval du sage\u003c\/em\u003e, was executed in 1947 at the height of his career, and it is a tour-de-force example of the haunting, mysterious scenes that comprise his oeuvre.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Painted in the years following the Second World War, \u003cem\u003eLe carnaval du sage\u003c\/em\u003e showcases several recurring themes from Magritte’s oeuvre. Chiefly, a juxtaposition between the visible and the hidden is keenly felt. Throughout his career, Magritte explores the psychological obsession with revealing what is hidden, particularly with regard to the human face. In his \u003cem\u003eLe fils de l’homme\u003c\/em\u003e, he obscures the face of a man in a bowler hat with an apple, while his \u003cem\u003eLes amants\u003c\/em\u003e (Metropolitan Museum of Art) conceals the faces of two lovers with white sheets. In \u003cem\u003eLe carnaval du sage\u003c\/em\u003e, Magritte juxtaposes the blatant nudity of his central figure by masking her face, simultaneously revealing and concealing her from the viewer. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The work also incorporates two of Magritte’s most common tropes – the glass of water and the baguette. Lending the scene a strange sense of domesticity, they appear infinitely familiar and distinctly out of place, and thus heighten the uncanny effect of Magritte’s composition. In the background hovers a ghost obscured by a sheet, a figure which was of particular fascination to Magritte beginning in 1946. He once wrote to his fellow Surrealist Paul Nougé: \"I saw in a dream an answer to the problem of the ghost: the traditional ghost draped in a sheet in a framed picture on the wall of a room.” The eerie echo of the woman in the foreground, the ghost is a fascinating and enigmatic addition to the unsettling scene. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Though firmly within the realm of Surrealism, \u003cem\u003eLe carnaval du sage\u003c\/em\u003e also represents the artist’s brief adoption of a colorful, more painterly style. The subtle, yet sunny colors of the background of the work reveals the influence of the Impressionist style on Magritte, particularly that of Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The figure herself is particularly Renoir-esque, evoking the burnished skin and exaggerated warmth of Renoir’s late colossal nudes. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e As a whole, \u003cem\u003eLe carnaval du sage\u003c\/em\u003e is an undeniable masterpiece of Magritte’s postwar output. The work exemplifies the principle tenets of the Surrealist movement, presenting ordinary objects in extraordinary situations. Thus, Magritte successfully creates a work that is both infinitely fascinating and jarring in its psychological dissonance. It is also stunningly beautiful, with its brilliant color palette and statuesque nude figure. Similar nudes can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) and the Art Institute of Chicago. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In the same private collection for over 70 years, the work is fresh to the market, which has recently seen a revival of interest in the artist. A new record for a work by Magritte was achieved in November 2018 when his \u003cem\u003eLe principe du plaisir\u003c\/em\u003e brought $26,830,500 at Sotheby’s. Just one day later, his gouache \u003cem\u003eL’Incendie\u003c\/em\u003e achieved a remarkable $4,335,000; nearly half the size of the present piece, it is a far less impressive work and not nearly as striking. \u003cem\u003eLe carnaval du sage\u003c\/em\u003e represents a rare opportunity for the collector of 20th-century art to own a masterwork by one of the age’s most important names. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The work comes complete with original letters sent by Magritte to the owners discussing the work. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Dated 1947 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Canvas: 24 3\/4\" high x 19\" wide (62.87 x 48.10 cm)\u003cbr\u003e Frame: 33 1\/2\" high x 27 1\/2\" wide, (85.09 x 69.85 cm) \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/rau-sfimages.s3.amazonaws.com\/dossier\/Dossier_30-8762.pdf\" target=\"new\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eView the Dossier\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Exhibitions:\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eExposition Magritte\u003c\/em\u003e, Brussels, Galerie Lou Cosyn, 31 May – 21 June 1947\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eArtistes wallons contemporains\u003c\/em\u003e, Luxembourg, Musée de l’état du Luxembourg, 12 November – 4 December 1949\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eQuelques artistes wallons contemporains\u003c\/em\u003e, Paris, Musée d’art moderne de la ville de Paris, 11 January – 12 February 1950\u003cbr\u003e São Paulo Biennial of Modern Art, 20 October – 23 December 1951, no. 22\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eExposition sur Magritte\u003c\/em\u003e organisée par l’Institut Provincial de l’Education et des Loisir, La Louvière, province of Hainaut, 21 March – 1 April 1954, no. 13\u003cbr\u003e Magritte, Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles, 7 May – 1 June 1954, no. 73\u003cbr\u003e Magritte, Brussels, Musée d’Ixelles, 19 April – 16 May 1959, no. 66\u003cbr\u003e Exposition Magritte, Liège, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Liège, 14 October – 10 November 1960\u003cbr\u003e Brussels, Galerie Isy Brachot, Rétrospective René Magritte, January – February 1968, no. 81\u003cbr\u003e Magritte, Lausanne, Esquisse du tableau reprise dans l’exposition de la Fondation de l’Ermitage, 19 June – 18 October 1987\u003cbr\u003e René Magritte, 1898-1967, Brussels, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, 6 March – 28 June 1998, no. 143 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Literature:\u003cbr\u003e Letter from Magritte to Mariën, [30 August 1946], in \u003cem\u003eMagritte Destination\u003c\/em\u003e, no. 192\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eArtistes wallons contemporains\u003c\/em\u003e, Brussels, Ministère de l’instruction Publique de Belgique, 1949, by J. Bosmant, no. 91 (illustrated)\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eQuelques artistes wallons contemporains\u003c\/em\u003e, Brussels, Ministère de l’Instruction public, 1950, by J. Bosmant, no. 84\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eRené Magritte\u003c\/em\u003e, Brussels, Editions de la Connaissance, 1954, by R. Magritte, p. 35, no. 73\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eL’oeuvre de René Magritte\u003c\/em\u003e, Brussels, Ed. de la Connaissance, by R. Magritte, 1962\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eRené Magritte\u003c\/em\u003e, Brussels, Musée d’Ixelles, 1965, by R. Magritte and L. Scutenaire, back page\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eLes Larmes d’Eros\u003c\/em\u003e, Paris, 1961, by G. Bataille, p. 216 (illustrated)\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eRené Magritte: 1898-1967\u003c\/em\u003e ,Ghent: Ludion, Paris: Flammarion, 1998, by G. Ollinger-Zinque and G. Leen, p. 150 (illustrated)\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eRené Magritte: catalogue raisonné\u003c\/em\u003e, Vol. II, Houston: Menil Foundation, Antwerp: Fonds Mercator, Paris: Flammarion, 1993, by D. Sylvester and S. Whitfield, p. 376, no. 615 (illustrated)\u003cbr\u003e Provenance:\u003cbr\u003e Robert de Keyn, Belgium, acquired from the artist in 1947\u003cbr\u003e Private collection, Netherlands\u003cbr\u003e M.S. Rau, New Orleans","brand":"M.S. Rau","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51803560476994,"sku":null,"price":9850000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0982\/5376\/6978\/files\/30-8762_1_b9b4d410-c5e1-44e3-807c-293b701c9483.png?v=1768102570","url":"https:\/\/www.bullvendors19.com\/es\/products\/le-carnaval-du-sage-by-rene-magritte","provider":"Bull Vendors 19","version":"1.0","type":"link"}