The Empty Mask

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The Empty Mask

René Magritte, 1928

Oil on canvas

81.2 × 116.2 cm, 31.97 × 45¾ in

National Museum Cardiff, Cardiff

The Empty Mask (1928) is a painting by Belgian surrealist, René Magritte.

In his essay 'Words and Images', published in 1929, the Belgian Surrealist Rene Magritte observed that each image 'suggests that there are others behind it'. Viewed through a freestanding frame of irregular shape, these images are a sky, a lead curtain festooned with sleigh bells, a house façade, a sheet of paper cut-outs, a forest and a fire.

The title evokes the fear of the invisible which pervades the artist's work and reflects the Surrealists' fascination with the subconscious. The painting was purchased in 1973 and is currently on display in the National Museum of Wales.

[edit] Sources

• National Museum Wales