2024 was the year Surrealism reclaimed the spotlight. Crowds flocked to blockbuster exhibitions worldwide celebrating the movement's 100th anniversary. On the auction block, René Magritte's Empire of Light swept headlines when it sold for an astounding US$121 million – a record for both the Belgian artist and any Surrealist work.
But what is it about Surrealism – born a century ago – that continues to fascinate audiences around the world? How do we interpret its dreamlike imagery? And why is the movement now attracting growing interest in Asia?
During Christie’s Hong Kong preview of the London Art of the Surreal Evening Sale, The Value caught up with Cristian Albu, Head of 20th/21st Century Art at Asia-Pacific, to uncover the timeless allure of Surrealism.
René Magritte's Empire of Light became the most expensive painting sold at auction in 2024
Cristian Albu, Christie's Head of 20th/21st Century Art at Asia-Pacific
What is Surrealism?
I was taught by a collector to never look at contemporary art with the eyes of today. Instead, view it as part of a continuation of the “-isms,” as we call them, like Impressionism and Cubism – something that is developing as we speak, but with roots deeply grounded in the past.
I once had a fascinating conversation with some artists about this idea. They told me, “We paint the present, but we constantly inform ourselves of the past.” We’re not just talking about the Old Masters but 10,000 years ago, from the earliest marks humans made on cave walls, to Antiquities, to the Old Masters, Baroque art, Impressionism, Modernism, and beyond.
Within Modernism, we encounter Surrealism, which was born in 1924 in Paris with André Breton’s manifesto. From its origins in Paris, it spread across the world – not just in Europe but also in America, Latin America, Mexico, and so many other places. Surrealism has developed into one of those “-isms” that has never ceased to exist. Just last year, in 2024, we celebrated 100 years of Surrealism, and its impact continues to resonate profoundly.
And Surrealism isn’t just about art – it permeates poetry, literature, cinema, music, and even fashion. It’s a philosophy that offers an alternative perspective on the human experience, a way of living and seeing the world. It’s in the clothes we wear, the movies we watch, the books we read, and the poetry we engage with. Painting is just one aspect – perhaps even a small one – of how Surrealism has shaped our perception of life.
(Left): Elsa Schiaparelli in the 1950s, founder of Maison Schiaparelli, known for her Surrealist designs | (Right): Schiaparelli's Fall-Winter 2024/25 Haute Couture
The set for the 1973 horror film The Exorcist was inspired by René Magritte’s Empire of Light
The Art of Dreaming: Understanding Surrealist Paintings
Surrealism is the art of dreaming. When we dream at night, we often wake up forgetting the details, but we know those dreams are powerful. They might reflect fears we’ve buried deep inside or desires we’ve been holding onto. Sometimes they come true; sometimes they don’t. Surrealism taps into the subconscious, giving form to those dreams and emotions.
That’s why so many Surrealist works include strange, surreal animals or fantastical scenes that don’t make sense. But that’s the point. The subconscious is a powerful tool, capable of creating worlds beyond logic and reason.
Yet Surrealism, as an artistic movement, is so much more than any single definition. It’s not something you can easily label or place into a specific framework.
I often think of art as a river – a continuous flow of ideas stretching all the way back to the time of cave engravings. Artists travel back and forth along this river, drawing inspiration from the past and creating something new. Surrealist artists, in particular, drew from Symbolism, another “-ism” from the late 19th century, turning their gaze toward literature. They don’t just create art – they’re part of this ever-flowing river of ideas.
René Magritte | La lumière du pôle (1926-27) | 139 x 104.8 cm | Estimate: £4,500,000 - 6,500,000 (Formerly in the collection of Italian-French actress Sophia Loren) | Offered in Christie's The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale in London
Belgian Surrealist René Magritte
René Magritte | La reconnaissance infinie (1933) | Estimate: £6,000,000 - 9,000,000 | Offered in Christie's The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale in London
La reconnaissance infinie: René Magritte and Surrealist Poetry
At Christie’s, we strive to bring this “-ism,” Surrealism, to new audiences. One such masterpiece is René Magritte’s La reconnaissance infinie, completed in 1933 and has never been seen at auction. When you look at it, you can start to see how Magritte was influenced – why, by whom, and in what ways.
The year 1933 was a time of radical change in Europe – psychologically, physically, and especially politically – as Germany was beginning to shift dramatically. Despite this turbulent backdrop, this painting is about dreams, fantasy, and, above all, poetry.
This work is an ode to Magritte’s friend Paul Colinet, a Belgian Surrealist poet. Magritte was an avid lover of poetry, and the titles for many of his paintings actually came from Colinet's poems. The year before this painting was completed, Colinet visited Magritte. While they talked about literature, dreams, and possibilities, the poet sketched a drawing from his imagination: a little man sitting on a sphere, seen through a window. Inspired, Magritte took the idea and went downstairs to begin creating the painting.
A year later, Magritte returned with the finished work. What the artist did here was give birth to poetry through painting – something common in Surrealist art.
Close-up of René Magritte's La reconnaissance infinie
Decoding Magritte: The Power of Imagination
Every painting holds a different meaning for each of us. When I used to visit museums and galleries, I was always eager for artists to tell the stories behind their work. But over time, I learned something important: sometimes, you don’t need to explain a painting. The painting speaks for itself. It communicates directly with the viewer.
A painting becomes truly interesting when it allows for multiple interpretations – when it invites different people to connect with it in their own unique way. It can tell a thousand stories: love, despair, fear, friendship, solitude, figuration, abstraction – sometimes both, sometimes neither. A painting becomes whatever the viewer wants it to be.
Surrealism is very much about this idea. Take Empire of Light, for example. What do you see?
René Magritte | L’empire des lumières (Empire of Light) | Sold: US$121,160,000, Christie's New York, 2024 (Auction record for the artist and a Surrealist work of art)
You see a house with one or two lit windows. It’s nighttime – the trees, the lamppost, and the stillness tell you that much. But then you notice the sky. It’s a bright, daytime sky, yet everything else is in darkness. There’s not a single figure in sight. It’s as though you’ve stepped into a scene from a movie, but the movie has frozen on this frame.
What happened just before this moment? Did someone leave the house? Did someone just enter? Is there a love affair inside? A murder? What comes next?
This is the beauty of Surrealism – it gives you endless possibilities to dream, to imagine the story, to create a narrative.
René Magritte | Le faux miroir (1952), gouache on paper | 14.5 x 19.4 cm | Estimate: £1,500,000 - 2,500,000 | Offered in Christie's The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale in London
Christie’s and Surrealism in Asia
In the past, the largest collectors and greatest admirers of Surrealist art were Europeans and Americans. But over the past 15 to 20 years, we’ve seen how sophisticated Asian collectors have become and how diverse their tastes are. They travel, visit museums, attend exhibitions, explore galleries, and participate in overseas sales.
Recognizing this, we made a conscious decision to bring Surrealism – or certain aspects of it – from London or New York to Hong Kong. That’s why, in the spring of 2023, we presented Magritte’s work for the first time at Christie’s Hong Kong with Le promenoir des amants. The painting became the most valuable work by the artist sold in Asia at the time, achieving HK$51.1 million. Since then, season after season, we have continued to showcase seminal pieces by Magritte, sustaining and growing the appetite for his work in the region.
Last year, we had a great moment when we broke a record: one of the variations of Magritte’s Empire of Light sold for US$121 million in New York. I can tell you that the very direct underbidder was an Asian collector. This was made possible because the collector saw the painting in Hong Kong, spoke to our specialists, and engaged in discussions about the work. It’s with great pleasure that bringing Magritte to Hong Kong has finally borne fruit.
René Magritte | La clairvoyance (circa 1962) | Estimate: HK$15,000,000 - 25,000,000 | Offered in Christie's 20th/21st Century Evening Sale in Hong Kong
Liu Ye | Beijing Madonna (1994-95) | Estimate: HK$12,000,000 - 18,000,000 | Offered in Christie's 20th/21st Century Evening Sale in Hong Kong
Highlights from This Season
During Hong Kong Art Week last year, we co-hosted an exhibition that juxtaposed iconic paintings by the Chinese contemporary artist Liu Ye with several significant works by Magritte, aligning with the 100th anniversary of the Surrealist Manifesto. This exhibition was curated to inspire collectors and enlighten them on the interconnections between the two artists.
Looking ahead, Christie’s Hong Kong sales in March will once again unite these artists. Among the highlights is Magritte’s La clairvoyance, a museum-quality piece that depicts one of the artist’s most important motifs – the “leaf-tree.” Alongside it will be Liu Ye’s Beijing Madonna, a remarkable and representative work.
On 28 March, they will be offered for sale in Hong Kong, and I look forward to sharing these remarkable works with new audiences and exploring their beauty together.