The Light Of Coincidences Rene Magritte

In the Artwork The Light of Coincidences, Rene Magritte utilizes space, balance, and high contrast to expose a quiet and eerie feel of the two-dimensional composition. Magritte, a Belgian artist, created this oil painting in the year 1933 . It is currently located in the James H. and Lillian Clark Galleries of Twentieth Century Art at the Dallas Museum of Art in Dallas, Texas. The work is small in scale, roughly two feet on each side with a gold distressed frame, and is made up of just three objects. Taking up most of the left side of the composition is a wooden framed painting of a classical female sculpture with the arms, legs and head missing. The torso is likely meant to represent marble and sits on a deep-red colored ground. In the forefront
For example, the table’s corner and the frame of the painting are geometric, robust and hard edged. I perceive these shapes to be more masculine in contrast to the voluptuous and soft form of the subject in the painting and the silhouette of the candle holder. The corner, sharp and abrupt, threatens to pierce the surface of the framed painting as it points directly and boldly so. However, the position seems necessary for unity as a whole. The female body with limbs missing contributes to a dreamlike narrative that makes me think of desire, creativity, and decay. Magritte also uses high contrast of light and shadow that evokes a powerful wave of emotions and silence. Though the painting seems quiet, the striking red ground creates a disruptive sound that overshadows the limited color palette in the rest of the composition. The candle is the only light source, which reminds me of a chiaroscuro painting from the late Sixteenth Century where the form of the objects are prominent and the details are heightened to give a true three-dimensional