Magritte et la censure

In1948, the Belgian painter René Magritte exhibited in an art gallery in Paris paintings and gouaches that were met with acrimony. Leaders of surreal- ism, usually fond of provocations, did not accepted this one. Many readings of this event have been proposed, starting from Magritte himself. The variety or even the divergence of such readings, however, suggests the need to interpret these works from a broader perspective. Starting from the aesthetic principles established by Hegel, the present essay seeks to show how Magritte endeav- oured to “release painting” from both personal and social censorship, which is constitutive of the very art of painting.