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Lot Essay
Archimedes (287?-212 BCE) was a Greek mathematician and inventor. His principle states that a body immersed in fluid is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the displaced fluid. This law pertains to gases as well as liquids. It explains the buoyancy of vessels in water, balloons in the air, and the apparent loss of weight of objects underwater. The phenomenon of flotation was the theme of a series of texts on "Le Bouchon" ("The Cork") appearing in the Brussels surrealist review Le feuille chargée in March 1950, to which Magritte contributed. Of course, Magritte's apples actually defy Archimedes' principle, in that they are heavier than the air they displace, and cannot therefore float. Proper natural law is observed by the fruit that rest in the compotier.
Magritte painted an oil version of this subject by mid-August 1950 (Sylvester, no. 160; coll. Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven). This gouache version was painted two years later, probably in the fall. It is one of sixteen small gouaches, most of which were based on existing images, that were shown at the Galleria dell'Obelisco in Rome at the beginning of 1953 (see Sylvester, nos. 1335-1350) and include many of Magritte's most famous subjects.
Magritte painted an oil version of this subject by mid-August 1950 (Sylvester, no. 160; coll. Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven). This gouache version was painted two years later, probably in the fall. It is one of sixteen small gouaches, most of which were based on existing images, that were shown at the Galleria dell'Obelisco in Rome at the beginning of 1953 (see Sylvester, nos. 1335-1350) and include many of Magritte's most famous subjects.