Photo: Cat in the style of Rene Magritte

Sometimes life imitates art.

I took this photo as Calvin pranced around the sink in our guest bathroom. After I downloaded it, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’ve seen something like it somewhere.

Cat in the style of Magritte

 

And then, with a little help from The Google to jog my memory, I figured it out.

Rene Magritte, surrealist painter.

You might recognize the artist’s work; here is The Son of Man, possibly his most famous painting:

The Son of Man via Wikipaintings

But what I remembered from an art history class was how Magritte liked to incorporate clouds in his work.

Like this:

High Society via Wikipaintings

And this:

Beautiful World via Wikipaintings

Or even this:

The Connivance via Wikipaintings

But especially this:

The Looking Glass, via Wikipaintings

Calvin, surreal cat.  Yup, sounds about right:

Cat in the style of Magritte

 

UPDATE 2/8/14

Some folks were wondering how I created this picture.  I call it the diamond cutter’s approach to photography. An experienced cutter slices away the parts that contain flaws; the result is a smaller but more valuable stone. I look at my photographs the same way. Once the pictures are on my laptop, I look for the gems hidden within. Then I cut out the distractions so all that’s left is the story I want to tell. Here’s the uncropped original photo below.

Calvin cloud ears uncropped



25 Comments on "Photo: Cat in the style of Rene Magritte"

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  1. meowmeowmans says:

    OMC, I love it! Calvin, you are definitely surreal! 🙂

  2. slimdoggy says:

    Love the picture and the mini art lesson.

  3. That first picture is just so clever! But I also love the last one with the cat in it looking at the mirror. But it really helps for indoor photos when the home looks nice or interesting in the first place! Vs cluttered. That wallpaper really made that picture for you 😉

    • The funny thing is, that was the wallpaper in the bathroom when we moved in years ago. Every time I think about removing it, someone says, “Oh I LOVE that paper. Don’t take it down.” And now that I have Calvin in a Magritte-like photo, I’ll never look at that bathroom the same way. ;-D

  4. Totally awesome!!!!! Really great post, photo and art history lesson. What fun.

  5. Annie says:

    I love this picture! Awesome! I’m a complete amateur when it comes to editing. This was fun to read about. Loved seeing the original photo too.

  6. Grace says:

    I am a huge Magritte fan and your photo is marvelous.

  7. Penelope says:

    This is a fabulishious shot. We too crops to find the jewels!
    Love love love it!
    Kisses
    Nellie

  8. Cathy Keisha says:

    So cool! TW used to have a BF who painted clouds in her bathroom too.

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