René Magritte Belgian, 1898–1967
La durée poignardée (Time Transfixed)
1938
René Magritte's 'Time Transfixed' ('La Durée poignardée', 1938) depicts a small steam locomotive emerging from the closed fireplace of an empty Victorian dining room. A classic Magritte displacement of ordinary objects, the painting was acquired by the Art Institute of Chicago in 1970 and has been one of the museum's most recognisable Surrealist pictures ever since.
Exhibition Venue
Image source: Art Institute of Chicago