Image Critique

Gene Magritte (1898-1967), was born in Belgium. His paintings were strongly influenced by Chirico. Magritte’s paintings introduced a new wave of art which combined the misleading sort of surrealism and adding the mockery of irony. For instance The Red Model, painted by Magritte in 1935, shares a harmony between feet and shoes and acts as a barrier between reality and fantasy.

Gene’s juxtaposition of the men, in Golconde, leads to the spectator’s interpretation of the commonly used pessimistic or optimistic views of the question, “Is the glass half full or is it half empty?” This perspective is ultimately provided by the onlooker. The composition of the painting creates the mood of the art’s either dejected or euphoric apprehension. The field of the men in top hats is really more of a commonplace. The realism of the modern apartment or hotel-like building creates an elaborate fantasy constructed within an actual place.

In all the painting could be depicted as Magritte’s real life dreams or fantasies. The way he associates surrealism and modern day architecture creates a mood of absolute metamorphosis between good and bad. Gene’s way of an unrealistic event into a realistic world shows off his talents and creative imagination.