“The Heart of Old San Juan,” created by Peter Doig in 1999, is a notable example of Magic Realism within the cityscape genre. The artwork captures a basketball court, likely in the titular Old San Juan, against a backdrop of subtle natural and architectural elements, laced with a sense of the surreal.
In the artwork, a vividly painted basketball court dominates the scene, extending into the distance where it meets a dark, shadowy thicket of trees and structures. The court is primarily composed of greens and blues, with strategic lines and circles in orange, helping to outline the game spaces. The foreground features a basketball hoop from the perspective of standing just outside of it, drawing the viewer’s eye towards the far end of the court. Adjacent to the court stands a small structure with a heart painted on the side, hinting at the artwork’s reflective title. The overall scene suggests an ordinary urban space, yet it is imbued with an eerie calm and an almost dreamlike quality unearthed through Doig’s deft brushwork and color choices, hallmarking the essence of Magic Realism.
