Utopia

1945

Utopia, 1945. René Magritte (Belgian, 1898–1967). Watercolor and gouache; sheet: 32.1 x 41.8 cm (12 5/8 x 16 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Lockwood Thompson 1992.275 © C. Herscovici / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York René Magritte was among the leading figures of the Surrealist movement, whose work emphasized dreams, the subconscious, and a break from reason and logic during the early 20th century. Magritte, in particular, often situated realistic imagery within ridiculous or unusual situations in order to question perception. Here, a rose grows on a rocky island amid a vast sea, set against a blue sky filled with large white clouds. By situating the flower within a barren and inhospitable setting, Magritte invites the viewer to question its purpose and survival. Created as World War II came to an end, the enigmatic image could symbolize a new beginning, although Magritte avoided assigning it a specific meaning. René Magritte made an almost identical painting around the same time that he completed this drawing.