Visual Rhetoric Presentation Alex Bullington

The Lovers II

This is a oil on canvas painted by Rene Magritte in It’s said that when Magritte was 13 years old his mother committed suicide by throwing herself in a river and drowning. Apparently, Magritte was there when they retrieved her body from the water but all he saw was the image of his mother with her dress covering her face. It’s said that this is the source of several of Magritte’s painting where there is cloth obscuring people’s faces.

Questions to Consider What do you think is happening in this painting? Is there a message behind this image? What is Magritte’s (the artist) perspective? Who or what is left out of this painting? What is the tone/mood of the painting?

What’s happening? There could be many different stories behind this picture about what’s happening. Some of my ideas are: – Their love is a mystery so they hide their faces with cloth – They aren’t allowed to be together because of social class or some sort of conflict – Maybe they’re just really ugly – Maybe they’re being shunned for decisions they’ve made and the cloth represents that symbolism – Maybe their relationship is something society or their family just isn’t ready for

Hidden Message? I was thinking about whether the painting had a deeper message to it and concluded that the message could be-love is blind. People rush relationships too quickly overwhelmed by their emotions. They are ignorant and naive. Also, I was thinking about this whole “love is blind” thing differently. I was thinking that maybe the cloth is protecting them from the people around them who judge and influence their relationship. Maybe their love is blind to the negative factors of what other people tell them and all that matters is how they feel for one another.

Perspective Personally, I think the perspective of this painting depends on the person. Someone could relate to this painting more if they’re in a steady “love is blind” relationship rather than someone who hasn’t had the best of luck in the field of love. Another perspective could be that someone is looking in on the couple and just discovered their secret love. Also, since the view of the couple feels so close up it seems like the viewer is familiar with this couple.

What’s missing? Where are they? If they are, who are they hiding from? What does it look like around them? What is their body language below their shoulders? Is someone watching them? What do they look like beneath the cloth?

Tone/Mood Magritte’s tone or attitude toward what’s happening in the painting seems to be mysterious and vague. He has a reason why he painted this but isn’t elucidating the reason to the viewer. The mood or atmosphere seems to evoke mystery more than anything else. The viewer, like myself, is asking more questions about the painting than finding answers.

Technique Magritte uses an interesting composition. The ceiling is white and the right side of the wall is a burgundy/red color. Randomly, behind them there is a stormy colored wall. Why did he do this? Is that wall predicting the future of this couple or showing the hardship they’re going through to meet each other at this very moment? Is the color of the wall on the right representative of their passionate love for each other?

Technique The painting is balanced with a person on each side but it looks like the couple is pushed back in the corner of the room. Once again, they could be hiding. It makes the viewer wonder what the rest of the room looks like.

Technique I also want to note the contrast of the woman’s face under the cloth compared to the man. The shape of her features are darker and hidden. Also, shouldn’t the man have the shorter cloth since he has shorter hair? It seems his cloth is longer.

What are your thoughts?

The Wise Words of Magritte “My painting is visual images which conceal nothing…they evoke mystery and indeed when one sees one of my pictures, one asks oneself this simple question ‘What does that mean’? It does not mean anything because mystery means nothing either, it is unknowable.” -Rene Magritte

Works Cited Magritte, Rene. The Lovers II Rene Magritte Gallery. Web. 22 Jan. 2013