Time Transfixed
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 |
| La Durée poignardée |
| René Magritte, 1938 |
| Oil on canvas |
| 147 × 98.7 cm, 57.87 × 38.86 in |
| Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago |
Time Transfixed (La Durée poignardée) (1938) is a painting by the Belgian painter René Magritte. It is on permanent display at the Art Institute of Chicago.[1] In general, the painting is a surrealist work which challenges the viewer’s sense of reality and comprehension of stability.
[edit] Depiction
The painting depicts a locomotive coming out of a fireplace in a rather empty dining room. The fireplace resembles a train tunnel. In the mirror all that is seen is the clock and the candles, suggesting that there is neither any furniture nor any people in this room.
[edit] The Artist's Explanation
In explaining Time Transfixed, Magritte said: "I decided to paint the image of a locomotive . . . In order for its mystery to be evoked, another immediately familiar image without mystery — the image of a dining room fireplace — was joined."
