#472 Le Prisonnier

It's probably something I
learnt from — copied from? —
Magritte, the giving of titles
that bear no relation to the
item in question, whether it
be poem or painting. Here 
he lines up abstract shapes, 
inserts a table — not of con-
tents but rather something 
you'd find in a hallway — & 
parks them in front of a barely-
discernable background that
would later be developed
across the years into what
would come to be described 
as a typical Magritte land-
scape, then titles the painting
with a name that apparently
has no resemblance to what is
going on within its confines. 
Ernst describes it as a collage 
painted by hand. I'd agree: 
but also see in it a statement 
of future intent — never be im-
prisoned by the fear of change.