The Blank (White) Page, 1967 by Rene Magritte Painting Description

The poetic painting “The Empty Page” was written by Rene Magritte back in 1967. This picture is endowed with the graphic elements. It would be sufficient just to have a glance at how the object details, seen on the canvas, do emerge.

The painting shows an evening landscape with a white round Moon in the form of a shining circle, which is surrounded by the dark green foliage on a blue-blue background. It is rising above the evening town, with the small houses barely reflecting the lights coming from the small windows. One can also notice the river line. Apparently, the night is approaching!

The moon shown on the painting acts not only as a light source, but it also perfectly fits into the leaves of trees, gradually becoming its juicy fruit. This might be caused by the glimmer of hope or the essence of things. The opposition of light and darkness is characteristic, since there would be no good without evil.

If one tries to describe the painting by its title, “The Blank Page”, it would be difficult to get to the understanding of why the author chose that one; however, it can be assumed that it is the moon rising, symbolizing a new beginning and coming to the people as a wonderful moment. What did the master want to convey to the watchers? Most probably, it is the impressions and thoughts reflected in his soul, thoughts, and heart.

When performing the assessment of the painting from the fine arts viewpoint, we could cite, for instance, the medieval Japanese engraving “kate-ga” as well as the three-line “haiku”. This would be a true description of the inspired nature in all its manifestations, the beauty of detailed images and a certain nostalgia for the evening promenades in childhood. Moreover, the memories of romantic naive and desperate love, and the time spent in proud and calm solitude, completely immersed in oneself.

The painting does not look like the typical works by the author. No green apples, strange objects, no people at all are presented. One will feel a deep silence, and the bustle of blue evenings, that are turning into the silence of black nights and a dark blue cold river, that lets its calm waters flow. It seems to be a moment of life or the very existence on earth! It is definitely worth capturing! Rene Magritte coped with this task successfully!