Empire of Lights

Empire of Lights (1954), (Christie's/WSJ)

If you asked the man on the street to name twenty artists--alive or dead--the odds are extremely low that René Magritte would be on the list. Yet, earlier this week his "Empire of Lights" sold for $121.2 million at a Christie's auction:

Magritte, who lived from 1898 to 1967, is known for his dreamlike takes on everyday objects, from smoking pipes to green apples to bowler hats. With this sale, he joins an elite club of fewer than 20 artists whose works have commanded nine-figure sums, including Pablo Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci. The sale, to a telephone bidder after a nearly 10-minute bidding war, also represents the first time this year that any artist has crossed the $100 million mark at auction.

...“Empire of Lights” was one of 17 canvases that the Belgian painter created between 1949 and 1964 that offer variations of the same surreal scene: A suburban house sitting in seeming darkness and yet backed by a day-lit blue sky. Sometimes, the house has a red door; other times, green shutters. Often, Magritte surrounds his houses with towering trees or a stream of reflective water. In whatever form, the juxtaposition of night and day is widely considered his masterpiece—and his bestselling motif. Christie’s version on Tuesday stood out in part because it was the biggest example to ever come to market, at 4 feet tall. It was also the first to include watery reflections.

The Impressionists and Post-Impressionists have had and continue to have their day at art auctions. The nine-figure valuation of Empire of Lights shows that the surrealists are closing fast.

The Son of Man (Singulart)

Note: although aficionados call Empire his "masterpiece," Magritte's most recognized painting is The Son of Man (1964). The apple, the bowler hat, and the hidden face have all rippled through popular culture. Concerning the apple,

Paul McCartney owned one of Magritte’s works titled Le Jeu De Morre in which the painter has featured yet another apple. Inspired by this, McCartney named the Beatles’ record company ‘Apple Corps’. This further inspired Steve Jobs to name his company ‘Apple Computers’.