It is a figurative painting that measures exactly 162 x 114 cm. It was done in the year 1927, at a time that the artist was described as the Surrealist Paris years.
Rene Magritte already established a name with his pieces of arts that evoked a certain degree of mystery amongst his viewers.
He was once quoted saying that the world would not exist without the mysteries that he depicted in most of his artworks. The Double Secret was an oil painting placed on a canvas material.
Rene Magritte painted this particular piece at the time of interwar period that was referred to as “Les anneesfolles.” The surrealist movement was present at this time and that in a way influenced most of his works.
The principal theme of the Double Secret by Rene Magritte appeared to be figuring out what could be hidden under the human figure. Apart from being so decorative, The Double Secret appeared to be also more personal.
It was exhibited in French’s capital, Paris, at a place known as the Pompidou Center. The overall painting of this image looks so cold, something that could be a symbol of death.
Being one of the first artworks by this Belgian author, it appeared to be very significant to him. The author while working on this piece seemed to have been much affected by the loss of his mother some time back.
Despite giving the picture a very personal approach, Rene Magritte also wanted to show even under that emotionless and impassive face; the chaos could still not be hidden.
The title, The Double Secret also appeared to have a very deep meaning. It could have been used to refer to the secrets of a man’s outer face, and even how to effectively analyze the appearance.
Another thing that is also represented in the title is the secret of the man’s hidden face, and what could have been hidden under that body depicted in the image.
Rene Magritte died in 1967, but the hard times he had possibly experienced after the demise of his mother was evident in his most works especially The Double Secret.