Galerie Alexandre Iolas, Paris (acquired from the artist)
Acquired from the above by the present owner circa 1970

New York, Iolas Gallery, René Magritte: Paintings, Gouaches, Collages 1960-1961-1962, 1962, no. 13
Minneapolis, Walker Art Center, The Vision of René Magritte, 1962, no. 75
Little Rock, Arkansas Art Center, Magritte, 1964
(possibly) San Francisco, Gump's, Magritte, 1964
Paris, Galerie Alexandre Iolas, Magritte: le sens propre, 1964, no. 11
(possibly) New York, Iolas Gallery, Magritte: le sens propre, 1965
Rotterdam, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen & Stockholm, Moderna Museet, René Magritte, 1967, no. 77 (in Rotterdam); no. 71 (in Stockholm), illustrated in the catalogue
Bordeaux, Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Surréalisme, 1971, no. 133
Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts & Paris, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Rétrospective Magritte, 1978-79, no. 166, illustrated in the catalogue
Humlebæk, Louisiana Museum & Hovikodden, Kunstsentret, René Magritte, 1983-84, no. 92 (in Humlebæk); no. 77 (in Hovikodden)
Tokyo, Musée National d'Art Moderne, René Magritte, 1988, no. 118, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Madrid, Fundación Juan March, Magritte, 1989, no. 52, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Paris, Musée du Louvre, Copier-Créer. De Turner à Picasso: 300 œuvres inspirées par les maîtres du Louvre, 1993, no. 308, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Paris, Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, Magritte, 2003, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Brussels, Musée Magritte (on loan 2009-10)

Quadrum, Brussels, vol. XI, 1961, illustrated
Patrick Waldberg, René Magritte, Brussels, 1965, illustrated p. 262
L'Art belge: Numéro René Magritte, Brussels, January 1968, illustrated p. 40
Michel Butor, Les mots dans la peinture, Geneva, 1969, illustrated p. 18
Suzi Gablik, Magritte, London, 1970, no. 158, illustrated p. 176
Harry Torczyner, René Magritte, 1971, p. 176
Louis Aragon, L'Œuvre poétique: tome V 1930-1933, Tournai, 1975, illustrated after p. 80
Harry Torczyner, Magritte: Ideas and Images, New York, 1977, no. 190, illustrated p. 116
André Blavier (ed.), René Magritte, Ecrits complets, Paris, 1979, p. 667, mentioned in a letter from Magritte to Scutenaire dated 10th December 1965
René Magritte, Lettres à André Bosmans 1958-1967, Paris & Brussels, 1990, p. 141, mentioned in a letter from Magritte to Bosmans dated 17th November 1960
Harry Torczyner, L'ami Magritte: correspondance et souvenirs, Antwerp, 1992, no. 169, mentioned in a letter from Magritte to Torczyner dated 14th November 1960
Magritte (exhibition catalogue), The Hayward Gallery, London, 1992, fig. a, illustrated p. 296
David Sylvester (ed.), Sarah Whitfield & Michael Raeburn, René Magritte, Catalogue Raisonné, London💯, 1993, vol. III, no. 922, illustrated p. 3🧸36

The canvas is unlined. There are a few very minor spots of retouching at the upper and lower framing edges, probably covering frame rubbing, visible under ultra-violet light. This work is in very good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue illustration, although the blue is slightly softer in the original.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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A remarkable example of Magritte's mature painting, La Joconde unites some of the best known elements of the artist's iconography: the curtain, the bell and the sky, all depicted against a neutral background. The composition is dominated by the monumental curtains, through which Magritte presents a juxtaposition of opposites – the paradox of concealing and revealing, and the con💟trast between the natural and the man-made, between interior and exterior settings. By confronting these contrasted elements, Magritte evokes the essential Surrealist paradigm of questioning the significance and purpose we attribute to various objects, and creating new meanings by placing these objects in new and unexpected contexts.

 

The enigmatic atmosphere of the present work is further emphasised by the notable absence of human beings. While the unpopulated room contains no elements that would indicate man's presence, the central curtain, occupying the focal point of the composition, is suggestive of the human form. Its sharp-edged shape, filled with the image of a cloudy sky, can be traced back to the paper cut-outs that Magritte first developed in his early drawings and papiers collés of the 1920s. Explaining this amalgamation of the sky and curtain imagery, the artist once told a reporter, 'the sky is a form of curtain because it hides something from us. We are surrounded by curtains' (Magritte, quoted in Sarah Whitfield, Magritte (exhibition catalogue), op. cit., 1992, note to no. 120).

 

Magritte was evidently satisfied with this image and used it again in several works, including L'Image en soi of 1961, a similar composition in oil which he painted for André Breton, Le Beau monde of 1962, and La Peine perdue of 1962 which was commissioned by Harry Torczyner. Magritte also executed a gouache version of La Joconde (fig. 1), now belonging to the French Community of Belgium and currently on display at the Musée Magritte in Brussels. Furthermore, he later used the image of the present painting for the sculpture of the same title, executed in 19🐼67 (fig. 2).

 

Jacques Meuris wrote about Magritte's use of curtains in his compositions: 'From the very earliest canvases, once Magritte knew what he was doing, drapes were a repeated feature. They appear in both Blue Cinema (1925) and The Lost Jockey (1926), for example. One way of looking at them is as a technical device. They are usually shown with loops, giving them the appearance of open stage drapes, and they enable the artist, through a process of optical illusion, to locate the planes of his image within the pictorial space. Another way of looking at these drapes is as a way of suggesting the fallacious (misleading) nature of the painted picture in relation to what it actually represents. Hence the idea of the stage set, to which the drapes lend emphasis. This is clearly the case with such paintings as High Society and La Giaconda (Mona Lisa). However, the "meeting of drapes" (Magritte's phrase) adds a quality of obtrusive accumulation that causes the viewer to see quite different elements that sometimes assume the form of drapes and other drapes that present areas of sky or houses' (J. Meuris, Magritte, London, 1988, p. 169).

 

The title of this painting was provided by Suzi Gablik, a young American artist and writer who was staying with the Magrittes at the time, researching the artist's work for a monograph that was only published a decade later. In a letter to the New York collector Harry Torczyner, dated 14th November 1960, Magritte mentioned the present painting, commenting that Suzi Gablik had found 'un beau titre' ('a fine title'). Arguably the most intriguing portrait painting of all time and a perpetual icon of popular culture, Leonardo's masterpiece, more commonly known as Mona Lisa (fig. 3) was re-interpreted by a number of modern artists, including Marcel Duchamp (fig. 4) and Andy Warhol. However, the association that led Gablik to connect the present work with the original La Joconde is not known: it could have been the stillness or the enigmatic, mystifying air of Magritte's image that reminded her of Mona Lisa. She could have interpreted Magritte's composition as an unintentional reduction of certain elements in Mona Lisa, the two side curtains resembling her sleeved arms, or indeed her hair, and the sky-filled shape between them replacing her face, all seen against what looks like a stage-set. Although the titles of Magritte's works are often whimsical or evocative rather than literal, the association with Leonardo's masterpiece certainly reinforces the importance of the present painting in Magritte's œuvre. 

 

 

 

Fig. 1, René Magritte, La Joconde, circa 1962, gouache on paper, Commun�꧅�auté Française de Belgique (on loan to Musée Magritte, Brussels)

Fig. 2, René Magritte, La Joconde, 1967, bronze, The Menil Collection, Houston

Fig. 3, Leonardo da Vinci, La Joconde, circa 1503-06, oil on panel, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Fig. 4, Marcel Duchamp, L.H.O.O.Q., 1919, rectified readymade, Private Collection