Rene Magritte's segmented women: Studies based on two paintings in the Menil Collection (Belgium)

Rene Magritte, Surrealist painter, represented women in segmented forms. He enclosed portions of female anatomy in frames and painted representations of broken, sculpted torsos. In this he was inspired by the example of de Chirico's poetic painting, Rodin's use of partial forms to represent whole beings, and by collage concepts involving the dissolution and reconstruction of images. Although Magritte's nudes were undeniably erotic, his ultimate conclusion seems to be that the mystery of woman is beyond the power of art's representation. Framing and fragmentation, as represented in two paintings from the Menil Collection and numerous related works, reinforce the idea that in Magritte's work art and reality were never intended to coincide.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Humanities

Grantor

Rice University

Year dc:date.issued

1992

Author dc:creator

• Marsales, Rita Miller

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Camfield, William A.

• Art history

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1911/13598

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.rice.edu:1911/13598