Ceci est un morceau de fromage
René Magritte, Belgian
1936 or 1937
Oil on canvas board in gilded wood frame set in glass dome and pedestal
The Menil Collection, Houston, TX
1936 or 1937
Oil on canvas board in gilded wood frame set in glass dome and pedestal
The Menil Collection, Houston, TX
Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see.
Rene Magritte is one of my favorite surrealist artists of all time. Magritte plays with the idea that everything we see is really not what it actually is. One of his most famous paintings, The Treachery of Images, simply states "Ceci n'est pas une pipe", with a painting of a pipe. He says this because yes, it is a picture of a pipe, but in reality it isn't a pipe at all, only a painting.
This piece is a counterpart to the pipe painting. Although it doesn't directly state it on the actual piece, he titles it as "This is a piece of cheese". It's paradoxical because there is a literal painting of a piece of cheese inside the pedestal. It is in fact, a piece, but an art piece of cheese.
My favorite part about this piece is that it also plays on the saying "this is a piece of cake". The painting of the cheese is in a pedestal where one would usually put a piece of cake. It's almost like he's laughing at the audience, playing a trick on us. I love the humor in it.
Fully understanding the levels of his art is definitely not "a piece of cake".
This piece is a counterpart to the pipe painting. Although it doesn't directly state it on the actual piece, he titles it as "This is a piece of cheese". It's paradoxical because there is a literal painting of a piece of cheese inside the pedestal. It is in fact, a piece, but an art piece of cheese.
My favorite part about this piece is that it also plays on the saying "this is a piece of cake". The painting of the cheese is in a pedestal where one would usually put a piece of cake. It's almost like he's laughing at the audience, playing a trick on us. I love the humor in it.
Fully understanding the levels of his art is definitely not "a piece of cake".