Michel Draguet, William Jeffett, Danielle M. Johnson
Salvador Dalí and René Magritte first met in the spring of 1929, in Paris, where these two emblematic Surrealists moved among the leaders of the artistic avant-garde. In August that year, Magritte joined Dalí in Cadaqués, where the latter had his home. Their Surrealist summer—which also saw visits by Éluard, Miró, and Buñuel—would prove decisive. Both Dalí and Magritte seek to challenge reality, questioning our ways of seeing and shaking up our certainties. In this they show fascinating similarities, despite the great differences in personality and artistic approach that would eventually see them drift apart.
Ninety years after that first meeting, an exhibition at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium for the first time explores the personal, philosophical, and aesthetic connections between the two artists.
Through some hundred paintings, sculptures, photographs, drawings, films, and documents, Dalí & Magritte reveals the play of influence, dialog, and rivalry that shaped their relationship.