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Lot Essay
The title of the present work, Le bon sens (Common Sense) is explained by Magritte in his 1948 document Titres as "it is only common sense that the fruitbowl should be on a horizontal surface rather than on a vertical plane" (quoted in D. Sylvester and S. Whitfield, op. cit., p. 354). Sylvester also adds that according to Marcel Marikn, the title was suggested by Paul Nougi.
As Sylvester points out, the composition of Le bon sens is another example of Magritte's parodies on art; in this case he has decided to lampoon is the master of still life painting, Cézanne. This assumption is confirmed in a 1957 home movie made by Magritte, which features the present work, and the shot immediately following that showing Le bon sens is of an illustration of Cézanne's famous Nature morte of 1895-1898 (Rewald, no. 804; The Museum of Modern Art, New York, The Lillie P. Bliss Collection).
At some stage between 1953 when the painting was exhibited in Rome at the Galleria dell Obelisco, and the 1957 home movie, Magritte altered the format to its current state and reworked the background. In its original incarnation the background had been painted in his "impressionist" style, and the full canvas was 235/8 x 31½ inches, as opposed to the present 185/8 x 30¾ inches. This can be deduced by comparing the information that Magritte presented to the organisers of the 1953 Rome exhibition with the format as is evident in the film shot 4 years later.
Le bon sens was one of approximately 25 works by Magritte included in the Surréalisme exhibition that he organized at the Galerie des Editions La Boétie in 1945-1946. Other artists that also exhibited included Delvaux, Marikn, Nougi, Arp, Ernst, Klee, Dominguez and Brauner. The subtitle of the show was "Exposition de tableaux, dessins, collages, objets, photos et textes". This, together with the two lectures given by Marikn and Achille Chavie in conjunction with the exhibition, indicate the comprehensive way in which Magritte intended to present the Surrealist movement of the 1940s.
As Sylvester points out, the composition of Le bon sens is another example of Magritte's parodies on art; in this case he has decided to lampoon is the master of still life painting, Cézanne. This assumption is confirmed in a 1957 home movie made by Magritte, which features the present work, and the shot immediately following that showing Le bon sens is of an illustration of Cézanne's famous Nature morte of 1895-1898 (Rewald, no. 804; The Museum of Modern Art, New York, The Lillie P. Bliss Collection).
At some stage between 1953 when the painting was exhibited in Rome at the Galleria dell Obelisco, and the 1957 home movie, Magritte altered the format to its current state and reworked the background. In its original incarnation the background had been painted in his "impressionist" style, and the full canvas was 235/8 x 31½ inches, as opposed to the present 185/8 x 30¾ inches. This can be deduced by comparing the information that Magritte presented to the organisers of the 1953 Rome exhibition with the format as is evident in the film shot 4 years later.
Le bon sens was one of approximately 25 works by Magritte included in the Surréalisme exhibition that he organized at the Galerie des Editions La Boétie in 1945-1946. Other artists that also exhibited included Delvaux, Marikn, Nougi, Arp, Ernst, Klee, Dominguez and Brauner. The subtitle of the show was "Exposition de tableaux, dessins, collages, objets, photos et textes". This, together with the two lectures given by Marikn and Achille Chavie in conjunction with the exhibition, indicate the comprehensive way in which Magritte intended to present the Surrealist movement of the 1940s.