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Lot Essay
The present work is the sixth of eight gouache studies that Magritte submitted to the directors of the Casino at Knokke-Le Zoute, Belgium, in April 1953 as a possible idea for the decoration of the interior of the Casino's 'Salle du Lustre', so named after the monumental glass chandelier which hung there. The series of eight paintings was titled Le domaine enchanté. Magritte was commissionned in the end to execute the large project. He painted first eight oils after the eight studies. The present composition was transferred with almost no alteration to the canvas (fig. 1). The eight much larger mural frescoes were then faithfully executed by a team of painters under the supervision of Magritte. The frescoes are still there today (fig. 2).
Essentially an oval shaped room which was used for receptions and as an overflow space from the main gaming room, the shape of the 'Salle du lustre' dictated much of the pattern of Magritte's designs. In this, the largest and most successful of the four murals that he executed, Magritte attempted to recreate an entirely Surreal environment by incorporating many of his best known images into a harmonious scheme that circled the room. As one entered, so one became surrounded by and enclosed in Magritte's own 'enchanted domain'. Magritte said that he took the opportunity offered by this commission to create an 'artistic spectacle' that would stand as a monument to his art and be an environmental introduction to the curious poetry of his mysterious world.
Le domaine enchanté (VI) is dominated by the figure of Woman (based on his wife Georgette). Based on a group of paintings titled La magie noire she is shown here leaning on a rock with a dove resting on her shoulder, seemingly half transformed into a cold blue statue detaching herself beautifully from the stunning background of 'building-block' sky. The composition encapsulates two other celebrated ideas of Magritte: that of the tuba on fire which appears in his paintings titled La découverte du feu, and that of the Pisa tower ironically supported by a feather which can also be found in La nuit de Pise.
Essentially an oval shaped room which was used for receptions and as an overflow space from the main gaming room, the shape of the 'Salle du lustre' dictated much of the pattern of Magritte's designs. In this, the largest and most successful of the four murals that he executed, Magritte attempted to recreate an entirely Surreal environment by incorporating many of his best known images into a harmonious scheme that circled the room. As one entered, so one became surrounded by and enclosed in Magritte's own 'enchanted domain'. Magritte said that he took the opportunity offered by this commission to create an 'artistic spectacle' that would stand as a monument to his art and be an environmental introduction to the curious poetry of his mysterious world.
Le domaine enchanté (VI) is dominated by the figure of Woman (based on his wife Georgette). Based on a group of paintings titled La magie noire she is shown here leaning on a rock with a dove resting on her shoulder, seemingly half transformed into a cold blue statue detaching herself beautifully from the stunning background of 'building-block' sky. The composition encapsulates two other celebrated ideas of Magritte: that of the tuba on fire which appears in his paintings titled La découverte du feu, and that of the Pisa tower ironically supported by a feather which can also be found in La nuit de Pise.