Titled “The Human Condition”

The Human Condition by Rene Magritte 1935

Painted in 1933 by Belgian artist Rene Magritte, The Human Condition is an example of the surrealist movement of the time.

Magritte would frequently introduce the idea of hiding an object or scene behind another object, such as his examples of people with their faces covered in cloth or by apples.

In this case a new element is added; Magritte is hiding the scene beyond the easel with a painting of that exact scene. It is impossible to know whether it is accurate to what is behind it, or whether perhaps it displays an idealized scene, but it lines up enough that it does not let the viewer see what might be beyond.

This is an important element in Magritte's work; it forces the viewer to come to a new understanding of what they are looking at. After all, the image itself is not real. The scene outside of the window is the same piece of art as the painting on the easel within the painting, which means there is no real scene beyond the easel to be accurate or otherwise.

Looking at it this way, it helps give it the label of 'surreal' because it evokes a sense of discomfort within the mind as one considers the meaning of this and how it is affected (or not) by reality. These layers of meaning and forced thought on the part of the viewer is what has made Magritte's work so infamous and long-lasting.

Art is always a reflection, a rejection, an acceptance, an exaggeration, or a denial of our human condition, and art can never be separated from it -as art is distinctly human. 

So What does it mean when an artist titles their work The Human Condition?

The italicized text was not written by myself. For further information on this text please visit www.rene-magritte.com/human-condition/.