The Seducer (Translation)
Le Séducteur (Primary Title)
René Magritte, Belgian, 1898 - 1967 (Artist)
Magritte, one of the leading Surrealist artists, sought to achieve a “superior reality” in his art through a fusion of the conventional perceived view of the world and the unconscious—especially as experienced through dreams. Magritte described this painting as a “pictorial solution” to the “problem of water.” He arrived at this solution through a process he called “frantic contemplation,” in which he spent days making almost identical sketches of the same subject until he achieved a vision that represented the “total reality” of both the logical (the conscious) and the mysterious (the unconscious).
Signed upper right: "Magritte"
Inscribed on reverse lower right: "LE SEDUCTEUR / 1950"
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
2021-2022: "The Magritte Machine", Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. Madrid, Spain, September 14, 2021 - January 30, 2022; Fundacio La Caixa, Barcelona, Spain, February 24 - June 6, 2022
2018: "René Magritte: The Fifth Season", San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA, May 19 - October 28, 2018
2014: VMFA Statewide exhibition, "From Picasso to Magritte: European Masters from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts", Taubman Museum of Fine Art, Roanoke, VA January 25 - August 23, 2014.
2013-2014: VMFA Statewide exhibition, "European Modern: Master Artists from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts", William King Museum, Abingdon, VA, August 23, 2013 - January 5, 2014.
2006-2007: "Magritte and Contemporary Art: the treachery of Image", Los Angeles County Museum of Art, November 19, 2006 - March 4, 2007.
2003: "René Magritte", Gelerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, paris, February 10 - June 9, 2003.
1998: "Retrospective René Magritte, Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels, march 6 - June 28, 1998.
1996-1997: "René Magritte", Musee des Beaux Arts de Montreal, June 27 - October, 1996; Kunstsammlung Nordheim-Westfalen, Dusseldorf, November 23, 1996 - March 2, 1997.
1995: "Surrealism: The Mirror of Anxiety", Nassau County Museum of Art, January 8 - April 9, 1995.
2018: "René Magritte: The Fifth Season", San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA, May 19 - October 28, 2018
2014: VMFA Statewide exhibition, "From Picasso to Magritte: European Masters from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts", Taubman Museum of Fine Art, Roanoke, VA January 25 - August 23, 2014.
2013-2014: VMFA Statewide exhibition, "European Modern: Master Artists from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts", William King Museum, Abingdon, VA, August 23, 2013 - January 5, 2014.
2006-2007: "Magritte and Contemporary Art: the treachery of Image", Los Angeles County Museum of Art, November 19, 2006 - March 4, 2007.
2003: "René Magritte", Gelerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, paris, February 10 - June 9, 2003.
1998: "Retrospective René Magritte, Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels, march 6 - June 28, 1998.
1996-1997: "René Magritte", Musee des Beaux Arts de Montreal, June 27 - October, 1996; Kunstsammlung Nordheim-Westfalen, Dusseldorf, November 23, 1996 - March 2, 1997.
1995: "Surrealism: The Mirror of Anxiety", Nassau County Museum of Art, January 8 - April 9, 1995.
©artist or artist’s estate
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.
