The Treachery of Images
| The Treachery of Images | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | René Magritte |
| Year | 1928–29 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 63.5 cm × 93.98 cm (25 in × 37 in) |
| Location | Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California[1] |
The Treachery of Images (French: La trahison des images [la tʁaizɔ̃ dez imaʒ], 1928–29, sometimes translated as The Treason of Images) also known as This Is Not a Pipe[2] and The Wind and the Song[3], is a painting by the Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte.
Description
The picture shows a pipe. Below it, Magritte painted, "Ceci n'est pas une pipe.", French for "This is not a pipe."
The famous pipe. How people reproached me for it! And yet, could you stuff my pipe? No, it's just a representation, is it not? So if I had written on my picture 'This is a pipe', I'd have been lying!
— René Magritte[4]
Context
Magritte painted The Treachery of Images when he was 30 years old. It is currently on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.[5] His statement is taken to mean that the painting itself is not a pipe; it is merely an image of a pipe. Hence, the description, "this is not a pipe." The theme of pipes with the text "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" is extended in his 1966 painting, Les Deux Mystères.[6]
The painting is sometimes given as an example of meta message conveyed by paralanguage.[7] Compare with Korzybski's "The word is not the thing" and "The map is not the territory".
See also
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Magritte's The Treachery of Images (Ceci n’est pas une pipe), Smarthistory[8] | |
| René Magritte considers language and perception, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art[9] |
References
- ^ La Trahison des images (Ceci n'est pas une pipe), 1929, Painting, Oil on canvas. Purchased with funds provided by the Mr. and Mrs. William Preston Harrison Collection (78.7). On public view: Ahmanson Building 2nd Floor.
- ^ Foucault, Michel (2008). This is Not a Pipe (PDF). James Harkness (Editor, Translator), René Magritte (Illustrator) (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-23694-3.
- ^ Bowman, Russell (2014). "Words and Images: A Persistent Paradox". Art Journal. 45 (4): 335. doi:10.1080/00043249.1985.10792322. JSTOR 776809.
- ^ Torczyner, Harry. Magritte: Ideas and Images. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-8109-1300-4.
- ^ "The Treachery of Images (This is Not a Pipe)". LACMA Collections. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "René Magritte - The Two Mysteries". Olga's Gallery. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
- ^ Haiman, John (2004). "Review of "Languages within language: An evolutive approach" by Ivan Fonagy". Studies in Language. 28: 246. doi:10.1075/sl.28.1.14hai.
- ^ "Magritte's The Treachery of Images (Ceci n'est pas une pipe)". Smarthistory at Khan Academy. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- ^ "René Magritte considers language and perception". San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
Further reading
- Allmer, Patricia. René Magritte: Beyond Painting, Manchester University Press, 2009. ISBN 0-7190-7928-4.
External links
- G.S. Evans (2005). "This could be a pipe: Foucault, irrealism and Ceci n'est pas une pipe". irreal (re)views.
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