Magritte, René. (1898-1967): The Extraterrestrials V. Marcel Lecomte & Georgette in the garden at Rue Esseghem in Brussels, 1935 – Original Photograph.
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Gelatin silver print, annotated, authenticated and signed in pencil on the reverse by Georgette Magritte, who states that this image was accomplished by René Magritte in Brussels. The full sheet 18 x 24 cm. Fine. Matted and framed under UV-Plexi.
In the series of photographs which constitute The Extraterrestrials, Georgette "dons an extravagant hat and mask that conceal half her face...these surrealistic arrangements prove that Magritte's photos are not always the result of unbridled fancy, but rather that they emanate from a premeditated, well thought-out creative process, much discussed among friends....In this enigmatic and almost hallucinatory sequence, we can recognize Marcel Lecomte (who became red with fury whenever Magritte painted a nose larger than life, thinking it an insulting reference to him)....The house on Rue Esseghem quickly became general HQ for Belgian Surrealism, and more specifically the Brussels Surrealists. Its members at the time were considered pale imitators of the Paris group, and their literary and poetic works were seen merely as flat jokes by a bunch of bourgeois-baiters, backward Communists, fairground strongmen, indigent nutcases, and flashy nonentities." (Patrick Roegiers: "Magritte and Photography," p. 66 - 69, where four other images from this remarkable series are reproduced)
"Every image had meaning for Magritte. Using the lens as a way of confronting the visible, he resorted not to convoluted special effects but rather to trivial objects, surroundings, and situations, in order to explore the most unpredictable reaches of the imaginary." (p. 64)
"Surrealism was a way of being, and in Belgium Magritte incarnated this attitude better than anyone. He never felt at home in France, where his art was poorly understood, to say the least." (p. 123)
In the series of photographs which constitute The Extraterrestrials, Georgette "dons an extravagant hat and mask that conceal half her face...these surrealistic arrangements prove that Magritte's photos are not always the result of unbridled fancy, but rather that they emanate from a premeditated, well thought-out creative process, much discussed among friends....In this enigmatic and almost hallucinatory sequence, we can recognize Marcel Lecomte (who became red with fury whenever Magritte painted a nose larger than life, thinking it an insulting reference to him)....The house on Rue Esseghem quickly became general HQ for Belgian Surrealism, and more specifically the Brussels Surrealists. Its members at the time were considered pale imitators of the Paris group, and their literary and poetic works were seen merely as flat jokes by a bunch of bourgeois-baiters, backward Communists, fairground strongmen, indigent nutcases, and flashy nonentities." (Patrick Roegiers: "Magritte and Photography," p. 66 - 69, where four other images from this remarkable series are reproduced)
"Every image had meaning for Magritte. Using the lens as a way of confronting the visible, he resorted not to convoluted special effects but rather to trivial objects, surroundings, and situations, in order to explore the most unpredictable reaches of the imaginary." (p. 64)
"Surrealism was a way of being, and in Belgium Magritte incarnated this attitude better than anyone. He never felt at home in France, where his art was poorly understood, to say the least." (p. 123)