Toying with the viewer's visual perception, Magritte creates an illusory piece in René Magritte Les enfants trouvés. Three male figures stand in a forest thick with tall, green trees. These top-hatted men, a common subject in Magritte's works, appear as if conferring in the depths of the forest. The two men to the left stand with their backs turned to the viewer while the one to the right stands in profile clutching a large rock. The viewer cannot quite discern what these men are doing in the forest, a seemingly unlikely location for three well-dressed individuals. However, the most striking element of this work is the way in which the trees, the men, and the background foliage appear at once both divided and united. Magritte overlaps these elements in such a way that the three men appear both hidden and revealed, simultaneously standing in front of and behind the tree trunks. The viewer's eye jumps around the piece in an attempt to situate the three men in a stabile location. While the focus is on the three individual subjects, Magritte creates a sense of animation and energy throughout the work as the viewer's eyes are constantly denied a concrete grasp on reality.

Created in 1968, this work is the first of 12 lithographs included in the portfolio Les Enfants Trouvés. This print is hand-signed by Fernand Mourlot (1895-1988) in crayon in the lower right margin; signed 'Magritte' in grey in the stone in the lower right of the image. Numbered 273/350 in pencil in the lower left margin, this work is printed by Fernand Mourlot, Paris on BFK Rives watermarked paper and published by Ed. A.C. Mazo et Cie, Paris.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany René Magritte Les enfants trouvés.

About the Framing:

René Magritte Les enfants trouvés is museum grade conservation framed in a complimentary moulding with silk mats and optical grade Plexiglas.