“Decalcomania” is an oil on canvas painting created by Rene Magritte in 1966 in Belgium. Measuring 81 by 100 centimeters, this work is a symbolic painting from the Surrealism art movement.
The artwork illustrates a figure, likely male, dressed in a dark suit and bowler hat standing with his back to the viewer, facing a red curtain that partly conceals a cloud-filled sky and a tranquil ocean. Interestingly, the curtain is cut in the outline of the figure, revealing a patch of the serene background through the silhouette. This creates a contrast between the solidity of the figure and the transparency of the space it occupies when alternately viewed through the opened curtain. The juxtaposition of the ordinary man with the unexpected backdrop evokes a sense of mystery and introspection, characteristic of Surrealist symbolism.
