Belgian artist René Magritte, 1898-1967, is one of the most popular artists of the Surrealist movement. He is famous for his compositions in which he depicts familiar figures, objects, locations and circumstances in a surreal, puzzling and often humorous way. Unlike other Surrealists, Magritte wasn't obsessed with Freud, the subconscious or the interpretation of dreams. He preferred to challenge the viewer and provoke questions with his meticulously executed paintings that deceive our eyes and toy with everyday reality. He rarely explained his work however. Magritte always preferred to leave it up to the viewers to decide what the work was about. In this painting a male figure is sleeping in a wooden construction. If it wasn't open on one side you would think it was a casket. The rectangular construction rests on several cabinet legs and is situated in a desert landscape. If this wasn't surreal enough, a massive rock can be seen closer to the horizon. The stone and wooden objects are perfectly aligned above each other in the composition. Despite the rock being further away in the distance, it seems to float above the sleeping man.

Magritte
The Cape of Storms,
1964
oil on canvas
Royal Museum of Fine Arts
Antwerp.

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This fantastic portrait of the princess with her huge cute dog resting next to her taps into the Romantic-Historical style frequently exhibited with skill by Belgian artist Joseph Henri François Van Lerius (aka Josef Van Lerius). Princess Herminie sits with an unbothered look during a calm moment with her giant furry dog in an idealized outdoor setting featuring a palace or villa in the distance. Her sandy blonde hair is pulled back and behind her head to highlight the young woman's beauty, pinkish cheeks, and pale skin. She wears an elegant carob color gown with white lace collar and sheer white sleeves accentuated by a lovely patterned red cape off the shoulders and matching blanket folded on her lap. Her left hand rests at her waist while the right hand reaches down to pet her beloved pet, perhaps a St. Bernard) that lazily reclines on its stomach in a Lion's pose with their huge paws next to long floppy ears. Van Lerius studied in Brussels and later taught at the Academy in Antwerp. Among the Belgian Romanticists, he was known as 'the painter of women' whom he painted with a classical precision, whether they were historical personages, mythical beings, or portraits of the glamorous ladies of society. It was rumored that he had a notoriously tumultuous love life, and that his self-inflicted death was over one of his models although it may of been due to a diagnosis and treatment for meningitis.

Princess Herminie de Looz and Corswarem by Jozef Van Lerius (Belgian) - Oil on canvas / 1860 - Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (Belgium) #womeninart #bigdog #oilpainting #JozefVanLerius #art #fineart #portrait #womensart #RoyalMuseumofFineArts #belgianart #portraitofawoman #lerius #dog #kmska