Pierre Sterckx's Study on Magritte Challenges Psychoanalytic Readings

Pierre Sterckx's book "René Magritte, l'empire des images," published by Éditions Assouline, offers a fresh perspective on the surrealist painter, emphasizing Magritte's own assertion that "there is nothing behind my images." Sterckx positions Magritte as an "arranger of surfaces," inviting commentary to drift from one visible object to another without seeking hidden meanings. Objects like sleigh bells, skies, trees, curtains, candles, and balusters are treated not as symbols but as things. Despite Magritte's strong opposition to psychoanalysis, Sterckx acknowledges the biographical impact of the artist's mother drowning herself in the Sambre River when Magritte was 13. The greenish waters in paintings from 1927-28, as well as veiled or decapitated women, are linked to this event. Sterckx notes a "coldness of self-defense" pervading Magritte's work, exemplified by the smooth body and lunar face of Georgette, his wife, asserting "the life of beauty." The study draws more from writers and philosophers admired by Sterckx than from art historians or surrealism specialists. The book, priced at 310 euros, features 130 illustrations.