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RENÉ MAGRITTE Original pen-and-ink drawing of La Belle lurette, signed "Magritte", [Brussels, c. 1965–66]; together with an autograph letter signed ("René Magritte") to André de Rache, 1 page on his rue des Mimosas letterhead, 228 x 140mm., Brussels, 29 March 1966, and a copy of issue 13 of Rhétorique, February 1966 (3) image 1

Lot 27^*

RENÉ MAGRITTE
(1898-1967)
La Belle lurette

The Mind's Eye / Surrealist Sale

25 March 2021, 14:00 GMT

London, New Bond Street

£20,000 - £30,000

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RENÉ MAGRITTE

Original pen-and-ink drawing of La Belle lurette, signed "Magritte", being his design for the covers of Rhétorique no. 13, with various autograph notes specifying the paper stock to be used and the colours for printing, small strip of white paper with autograph changes to layout taped to drawing, on a reused sheet of brown paper, the verso with typed words 'Les lois du couple' (the title of Henri Ronse's prose piece with the magazine), a few surface abrasions, tear with small paper loss in lower margin (not affecting image), sheet 203 x 253mm., [Brussels, c. 1965–66]; together with an autograph letter signed ("René Magritte") to André de Rache, 1 page on his rue des Mimosas letterhead, 228 x 140mm., Brussels, 29 March 1966, and a copy of issue 13 of Rhétorique, February 1966 (3)

Footnotes

MAGRITTE AS BOOK DESIGNER. Here, Magritte sketches out his image for a cover of the Belgian journal Rhétorique, including the placement of his signature, and indicating the typographic layout. The cover illustration is a variant of his enigmatic and faintly voyeuristic La Belle lurette, painted in 1965; by coincidence, the original painting sold last year, for $1.3m (Sotheby's New York, Evening Sale, 28 October 2020, lot 140).

In his schematic drawing, Magritte also includes circles painted blue and grey to indicate the tones he wants for the typography (blue) and the image (grey). He requests a 'Couverture en papier Blanc-fort — interieur = papier couché – dos de la couverture.'

Magritte was a regular contributor to Rhétorique and supplied cover illustrations for several issues. The autograph letter included in the lot is written to editor André de Rache in the month after the publication of issue no. 13, requesting the bill for the cartes illustrées he had received, and hoping that 'le "Waldberg"' (Patrick Waldberg's monograph on Magritte, published by de Rache the previous year and advertised within Rhétorique) satisfies the great art collector Nellens.

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