“Personal Values,” an oil-on-canvas artwork created by René Magritte in 1952, symbolizes the surrealist movement and measures 80 by 100 centimeters. Housed at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) in San Francisco, CA, this symbolic painting exemplifies the artist’s unique approach to familiar objects and their arrangement.
The artwork depicts an interior room wherein everyday objects are depicted in exaggerated proportions that defy conventional scale. A large comb leans against the wall next to a modest bed with a red bedspread. Dominating the scene further are an oversized glass, an immense shaving brush atop a wooden wardrobe, a colossal soap bar, and what appears to be a matchstick on a carpet. The walls of the room are painted with a sky filled with clouds, extending an ethereal and dreamlike quality to the composition. This juxtaposition of conventional items in an unconventional arrangement reveals Magritte’s exploration of perception, challenging the viewer to find meaning in the ordinary turned extraordinary.
