Magritte plus Musk. What a couple. Let’s explain it: at Christie’s, at the end of the month, «L’oiseau de ciel» by the Belgian painter will be among the main lots of the sale «The Art of the Surreal». And since the dove in question (on a blue background) is very reminiscent of the Twitter bird, it seems that Elon Musk – the Tesla magnate as well as owner of the platform – will want to win it.
Christie’s, therefore, announces the sale of «Le retour», that suspended dove that turns into the sky so dear to René Magritte. The same subject of the famous work of 1940, now exhibited at the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique; the same one that, in Houston, meets the public’s gaze at the Museum of Fine Arts, with «Le baiser» of 1951. Now «L’oiseau de ciel» is ready to fly among the top lots of The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale scheduled in London on February 28th. According to experts, it could reach the ceiling – the sky – of £4-6 million.
«In a beautiful dreamlike landscape by Magritte» explain Olivier Camu, Deputy Chairman, Impressionist and Modern Art, Christie’s and Ottavia Marchitelli, Head of Sale, The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale, of Christie’s London, «Le retour offers viewers a symbol universal of hope, an immediately identifiable yet otherworldly vision is… The dove of peace», they continue, «is recognized throughout the world and we are sure that this exquisite gouache will arouse great interest from our international clientele».
Eyes on the subject then, but also on the technique of an iconic Le retour. A gouache, it was said, that is to say a fascinating cross-section of Magritte’s practice, of his way of investigating the same subjects already explored previously. “The medium has allowed him to spread his ideas and his fundamental visual concepts to a wider audience,” they explain from the maison. “Colour helped convey the full meaning of the image, describing texture and weight. The smooth surface of the gouache accentuated the surreality of the image, and with it the logical leaps of the composition».