Analysis of Rene Magritte Paintings

While Salvador Dali's painting seems like fantasy, seems like ones lucid dream, filled with unordinary objects, Rene Magritte's painting are usually consist of ordinary objects that are in unusual contexts, in strange situation with striking juxtaposition.

Though I like many paintings of Belgian surrealist Magritte, I have decided that I will elaborate on few paintings, which are False Mirror, The Empire of Light, The Castle of Pyrenees, Personal Values, and The Victory. My analysis is at below. Note the recurring themes of the paintings, which is blue sky and clouds. Are these paintings suggesting that the blue sky and the white cloud is the path to ones soul or unconscious.

	What we see is what our mind wants us to see. Painting False Mirror shows how we see reality, and how often we don't realize maybe the reality is not the really but mere reflection of our own mind. Our mind, our eyes, our perception is the false mirror. The blue sky and the white clouds, I believe, tells that by connecting with our unconscious mind, we will be able to truly perceive reality.
	Unconscious mind is wise while conscious mind is unwise. Very simple to say; however, painting The Empire of Light portrays my above quote perfectly. While the top portion of the painting shows sunny day with bright sky with white clouds, the bottom part shows night time. The placement of day and night is very striking and strikingly reminds us about our conscious mind or self that we use in everyday life, and reminds us about our lighted unconscious mind that waits for us to use it to brighten our senses.
	Truth is hard to deny for that is hard as rock, true as diamond, and invincible. The castle is on top of the magnificent mountain Pyrenees. The castle seems to be a part of Pyrenees. On the other hand, the Pyrenees seems as the castle. The Castle of the Pyrenees placed itself on top of the ferocious ocean by defying gravity, by defying common human laws and logic. Floating in bright sky that's filled with white clouds, which represents our unconscious mind. The dark ocean represents conscious mind by its angry waves. The ferocious waves can't bear any reflection of the peaceful bright sky, its white clouds, and the castle and the Pyrenees due to its angry, dirty, and shallow water.
	People have values that they accept, that they nourish, that makes their reality. But is that reality is really the reality? The unusual sized common objects and their placements in painting Personal Values are striking. The walls of the room are not really wall but the unconscious mind. Inside the unconscious mind, the personal values reside that are invincible, hard as rock. This painting also portrays fear. Observe the top ceiling, which might break: the unconscious mind's personal values and beliefs might face the real reality or might have new understanding. The false mirror on the wardrobe shows the window, through which new reality can be perceived.
	Knock. Knock. Is anybody out there? The door opens after several knocks and the unconscious enters in conscious realm. It is hard to say whether the yellow sand represents the conscious self or the unconscious self. However, it is conclusive that as the door opens, a bridge gets created in between conscious and unconscious self. The painting The Victory's title also tells that the person was able to make the bridge in between his conscious and unconscious self.

I find Rene Magritte's paintings very intriguing and mysterious. Although in this page, I am telling my analysis, please note that I have different interpretations, about these paintings, as well; therefore, you might have a very different perspective. Mysterious painting such as these are not supposed to have one single meanings but several or none, and one can ponder but should not assign a meaning as Magritte said,"

"My painting is visible 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"