At-A-Glance: Marisol’s Magritte II

Suggested Language for Student Discussion

Take some time to look closely at this work of art.

• Art isn’t always what it seems at first glance.
  • When looking at this piece, what do you notice about the figure’s face?
  • How do you think the artist created the face in this block of wood?

• Consider the mood of the figure.
  • How would you describe the figure’s facial expression?
  • What might he be thinking or feeling?
  • Does he appear to be young or old? What do you see that makes you say that?

• It’s best to view three-dimensional objects from as many angles as possible. Take a look at the back of this artwork.
  • What do you see on the reverse side? How is it different from the front?

Make sure to give students ample time to look and discuss before sharing the information below.

• Marisol may have created this sculpture to, in part, illustrate the connection she felt with Magritte.
  • If you were to create a sculpture of a person that means a lot to you, who would it be?
  • Why did you choose this person?
  • What items would you include in your sculpture to remind you of them?

About the Magritte II

In this sculpture, Marisol positions artist René Magritte as the subject of her own work of art, exploring their personal and professional connections.

In 1998, Marisol completed a series of six wooden sculptures of René Magritte (1898-1967), a Belgian artist whose work toys with truth and illusion by featuring common objects in unusual contexts. (You can view some of Magritte’s work here.) Marisol’s sculpture—or homage, as she called them—shows an older Magritte wearing a bowler hat and holding a real, open umbrella, two symbols that appear throughout Magritte’s work.

Her Magritte series, like other works by Marisol, mixes realism with abstraction. Some elements are shown in great detail while others remain blocky and geometric. For example, the carved face strikes viewers as the most intricate part of the sculpture. Marisol manipulates the rich wood grain to convincingly contour Magritte’s features and completes his eyes and eyebrows with charcoal. This face, however, juts out from a thick torso made from discarded wood embellished only with a wash of black.

On the back of the sculpture’s head, Marisol includes a line drawing of her own face. Throughout her career, she repeatedly represented herself in her artwork. She stated: “There comes a point when you start asking, ‘Who am I?’ I was trying to find out through my sculpture.” This self-portrait may also allude to the connection Marisol felt with Magritte, both professionally and personally. Both artists experimented with space and reality in their work. Both artists also lost their mothers at an early age. After Marisol lost her mother, she took a vow of silence, refusing to speak voluntarily until she was in her twenties. She later memorialized her mother in Mi Mama y Yo (My Mom and I) (1968), which you can view here.

About the Artist

Marisol, c. 1963. Courtesy Buffalo AKG Art Museum Digital Assets Collection and Archives.

Born in Paris to Venezuelan parents in 1930, María Sol Escobar rose to prominence in the 1960s for her signature wooden figures. Known as Marisol, a Spanish nickname that means “sea and sun,” she spent her childhood between Paris, Caracas, New York, and Los Angeles before settling in New York as an adult. A self-proclaimed citizen of the world, she refused to adopt a national identity. Marisol studied at private art schools in LA before joining the Paris École des Beaux-Arts, the Art Students League of New York, and the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts.

Originally trained in drawing and painting, Marisol soon turned her attention to sculpture. She produced dozens of large, three-dimensional portraits emerging from discarded wood beams and found objects like umbrellas, shoes, and hats. Drawing from politics, celebrity culture, and the art world, her subjects include John F. Kennedy, Martha Graham, and Andy Warhol. Though often associated with the Pop Art movement, when asked if she would describe herself as a Pop artist, Marisol responded, “I don’t know—maybe it’s better not to.” While she socialized with many Pop artists, her work doesn’t explore themes such as mass media or consumerism. Rather, Marisol examines more personal topics, such as how we see ourselves, human relationships, and confining social norms.

Though celebrated during her lifetime, Marisol has long been overshadowed by her male counterparts. In 2014, a major exhibition of Marisol’s work at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art sparked renewed interest in her work, prompting additional exhibitions. Art museums began to collect and display her art, finally recognizing her as one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century.