The Castle of the Pyrenees

The Castle of the Pyrenees (Le Château des Pyrénées) is an oil on canvas painting by the Belgian surrealist René Magritte, completed in 1959. The painting depicts a large rock floating above a sea and topped by a stone castle. Magritte's friend Harry Torczyner, a lawyer and author, commissioned the painting and chose its theme. The painting is displayed in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem along with Magritte's correspondence with Torczyner.[1]

The Castle of the Pyrenees
ArtistRené Magritte
Year1959
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions200 cm × 145 cm (79 in × 57 in)
LocationIsrael Museum, Jerusalem

The painting is one of several Magritte works depicting stones, which were a frequent theme in his 1950s work. The work was influenced by the French expression "châteaux en Espagne", or castles in Spain, which refers to impossible dreams; the Pyrenees mountain range runs along the border between France and Spain. It is one of Magritte's most reproduced paintings and has been cited as an inspiration by artists such as John Baldessari, Edward Ruscha, and Martin Kippenberger.[2] A 2008 novel by Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder is named after the painting.

See also

References
  1. "The Castle of the Pyrenees". The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  2. Takac, Balasz (April 12, 2022). "The Castle of the Pyrenees - Magritte's Magical Castle in the Air". Widewalls. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
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