The masterpiece by surrealist painter René Magritte titled ‘La Magie Noire’ measures just 73 x 54 cm. Displayed at the Magritte Museum in Brussels, it has rarely been seen outside Belgium in more than 90 years, but it will soon be auctioned by Sotheby’s in Paris.
Painted in 1934, ‘La Magie Noire’ is the first—and widely considered the most beautiful — of ten mysterious variations. The series features the artist’s wife, Georgette Berger, and is regarded as the most iconic nude in surrealist art.
The painting was acquired the same year it was created by celebrated World War II resistance heroine Suzanne Spaak’s family, long-time benefactors of Magritte, particularly during the Great Depression. Spaak, who met Magritte through her Belgian husband, playwright Claude Spaak, was executed by the Gestapo in Paris for helping 163 Jewish children escape deportation, hiding them in her home.
Sotheby’s estimates the piece will fetch between €5 million and €7 million when it goes under the hammer in Paris on October 24.
