René MagritteLes Graces naturelles
circa 1953
Red chalk on paper
Signature in the lower right corner, signature and title on the reverse in the lower right corner
18.5 x 14.45 in ( 47 x 36.7 cm )

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Inquiry - Les Graces naturelles, circa 1953

"If we imagine young girls blossoming, we can also acknowledge a bird in bloom. The emergence of this bird is as delightful as the sunrise."
René Magritte

The bird-leaf in this beautiful chalk drawing, Les Grâces naturelles, is an emblematic and recurring theme of Magritte's art. This particularly graceful model of metamorphosis was acquired from the Belgian artist in 1953 by Raymond Becquevort, founder of the La Sirène gallery in Brussels. Frequented by Ponge, Artaud and Michaud, it was a major hub for the surrealist intelligentsia; a place where words discovered images.

Magritte began developing the theme of the bird-leaf in 1942, when Belgium was under Nazi occupation. He adapted this theme into infinite variations moving from chalk to gouache, then onto canvas. So often symbols of hope, here birds are poetic and neurasthenic metaphors. The assimilation of the naturally-mobile bird with the plant that is rooted deep in the earth, contributes to a troubled state of mind.