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A extraordinary painting from the renowned surrealist artist René Magritte which has remained within a single private possession for more than 90 years is scheduled to go auctioned in late October.

This Fascinating Story Behind the Artwork

La Magie Noire was first acquired by the family of Suzanne Spaak, a Second World War resistance heroine that acted as Magritte's patron at an period when Magritte was struggling economically and had failed to move any work for two years.

She was shot at the hands of the Gestapo in Paris due to her actions to help Jewish children find security.

Sale Projections and Anticipations

This auction house has estimated that the artwork may fetch in the range of five million euros and seven million euros, but experts expect that it will achieve a much greater price.

This is the first time I’ve managed a major Magritte work which has remained with one family since it was painted,” remarked a high-ranking art market executive. This is extraordinary, as is the history of the family.”

He further referred to the painting as “the Taylor Swift in surrealist art,” noting that “If you were to request a group of schoolchildren to prepare a report about the surrealist movement, this artwork alone could be sufficient to explain the movement.”

Magritte's Formative Challenges and Career Development

The Belgian artist initially was employed as an artist in a wallpaper factory also created advertising posters before 1926, at which point he created his debut surrealist work.

A year later, he had his debut exhibition in the Belgian capital, however the critics were savage so disheartened Magritte moved to France, in which he failed to make his mark.

Magritte returned to Belgium by 1930 where he formed an advertising agency with his sibling Paul Magritte.

The artist's life was very difficult during that period. The Great Depression which began in 1929 in the US affected the French economy by the early 1930s. For two years, between 1930 to 1932, he sold no works and held no exhibitions,” the expert stated.

No one was buying paintings from surrealist artists. They were viewed as radical agitators.”

The Influence of the Benefactors

Spaak’s husband, Claude, a well-known Belgian playwright, knew the artist and a benefactor, ordering paintings of Suzanne and children while also arranging regular financial support for the artist and his household.

In 1934, Suzanne Spaak’s sister Alice, known as Bunny, bought La Magie Noire to mark the arrival of her first child alongside Emile Happe, a Belgian businessman.

“The Spaak family was to Belgium what the Mountbattens were for Britain; almost aristocratic and they pulled Magritte through hard times,” an art specialist said. “It was bought to commemorate the arrival of a baby but it was a revival for the painter as he was struggling to get himself back on his feet.”

Painting Features with Meaning

The model for the series was Magritte’s wife, Georgette Berger, who is portrayed in a classical manner resembling a marble statue placing her hand on a stone block.

Her upper body slowly merges into the sky in the background while her lower body maintains its realistic coloring.

Magritte later created ten comparable works, many of them received different names. In this work, the first in the series, Georgette appears with a dove perched on her shoulder.

A portion of the background shows a semi wood-panelled interior wall.

Suzanne Spaak’s Courageous Underground Work

Suzanne and Claude Spaak resided in Paris at the outbreak of war in 1939.

After the Nazi occupation of the French capital, Suzanne became part of the resistance and was a member of the “Red Orchestra” spy ring.

Spaak used her considerable fortune to save 163 Jewish children from deportation, hiding several of them at her home before they could be moved to safety.

Tragic Outcome and Legacy

In October 1943, German forces arrested Spaak along with 600 members of the Red Orchestra.

On August 12, 1944, days before the liberation of Paris, Nazi agents executed Spaak in captivity. She had been 38 and has since recognized by Israel as one of the Righteous for her efforts to save Jewish lives.

The artist died from cancer in August 1967 and is buried in the Belgian capital.

Exhibition with Sale Timeline

This artwork, which has been displayed in the Magritte Museum in Belgium, has been rarely seen outside Belgium in more than nine decades.

La Magie Noire will be shown in the French capital between 17 and 23 October prior to the auction on 24 October.