SAGES Seminar Essay Prize Booklet 2020-2021

6 of a pipe was originally created by arranging the phrase that now lies below the image of the pipe in the shape of the pipe. This becomes important in regards to the uncanny, as the words of the painting are recognized not as words, but drawings of words, just as the pipe is not actually a pipe, but a painting of one. Therefore, Foucault concludes: the invisible, preliminary calligraphic operation intertwined the writing and the drawing, and when Magritte restored things to their own places, he took care that the shape would preserve the patience of the writing and that the text remains always only a drawing of a representation. (23) This work can then become its own double as well, whether the original is a calligram as Foucault believes, or simply a drawing of a pipe previously agreed to be interpreted as a pipe.

Through the use of the uncanny effect of the double, Magritte ensures that viewers feel uneasy as he questions the accepted norms of art.

The uncanny feeling elicited by Magritte’s works then becomes a powerful tool. While many works of art are simply viewed, Magritte’s works can be felt. The Spirit of Geometry is a very linear work; thus, the figures are clearly defined and separated not just by color.

Additionally, the brush strokes are unnoticeable, except perhaps in the curtain. By subduing the brushstrokes, the painting becomes more realistic and less stylistic. This makes the painting appear to be based further in reality, and removes the uncanny from the realm of fantasy. For this reason, viewers are able to become fully immersed in the work, thereby allowing Magritte to use the uncanny to subvert the emotions that a typical piece of art would evoke. If one usually attaches positive feelings to works of Madonna and Child, or any depiction of a mother and son, they should now feel uncomfortable. Whether one interprets this work as a representation of Magritte’s anger towards his mother, as religious commentary, or as both, it is clear that Magritte