“Attempting the Impossible” is an oil painting on canvas by the artist René Magritte, created in 1928 in Paris, France. The artwork, which belongs to the Surrealism movement, measures 105.6 x 81 cm and falls under the genre of symbolic painting. Currently, it resides in a private collection.
The artwork depicts a scene of a man dressed in formal attire painting a nude woman, meticulously rendered on a neutral background adorned with simple paneling. The painter, holding a palette and brush, appears to be in the process of painting the woman’s shoulder, merging surrealism’s fascination with reality and illusion. The woman’s serene and composed posture contrasts with the ethereal quality of her being partially painted, symbolizing an exploration of the artist’s power to create and the enigmatic relationship between reality and creation. This symbolic imagery invites viewers to reflect on the nature of artistic creation and its inherent paradoxes.
