Lot Essay
THIS WORK IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE LAST WORKS EXECUTED DURING MAGRITTE'S 'IMPRESSIONIST' PERIOD, WHICH DATES FROM EARLY 1943 UNTIL THE SPRING OF 1947; MAGRITTE HIMSELF CAME TO PREFER THE TERM 'PéRIODE SOLAIRE' TO DESCRIBE THIS PERIOD. THE PRESENT WORK EXEMPLIFIES THE BRIGHT PALETTE AND FEATHERY 'IMPRESSIONIST' BRUSHWORK WHICH IS CHARACTERISTIC OF THE FIRST FEW MONTHS OF 1947. ACCORDING TO JACQUES WERGIFOSSE, LE CAPRICE WAS INSPIRED BY A DREAM IN WHICH MAGRITTE VISUALISED AN IMAGE OF CLOUDS IN THE FORMATION OF PRINTED TEXT WITH A SNOW-COVERED STREET-LAMP TO THE LEFT. IN THE PAINTINGS, MAGRITTE REPLACED THE STREET-LAMP WITH A "POIRE EN NEIGE...POUR éVITER UNE FAUSSE NOTE TOLéRABLE EN RêVE MAIS PAS DANS LA PEINTURE".