René Magritte (1898-1967), Le groupe silencieux

René Magritte (1898-1967)
Le groupe silencieux
signed 'Magritte' (lower right); signed and inscribed '"le groupe silencieux" René Magritte' (on the stretcher)
oil on canvas
47 1/4 x 31 1/2 in. (120 x 80 cm.)
Painted in 1926

Special Notice
Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.
Please note that Christie’s has a direct financial interest in this lot and has funded all or part of our interest with the help of someone else. See Important Notices and Explanation of Cataloguing Practice in the Conditions of Sale for further information.

Provenance
Galerie L'Epoque [Paul-Gustave van Hecke], Brussels.
Galerie Schwarzenberg, Brussels, until circa 1932-1933.
Edouard Léon Théodore Mesens, Brussels & London, by whom acquired circa 1932-1933 until 1968.
Galerie Isy Brachot, Brussels, by whom acquired from the above in 1968.
Private collection, Turin, by whom acquired from the above in 1968.
Private collection, Italy.
Acquired from the above by the present owner.

Pre-Lot Text
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTION

Literature
J. Stevo, ed., L'Art belge, Numéro René Magritte, Brussels, January 1968 (illustrated on the cover).
D. Naylor, E.L.T. Mesens: His Contribution to the Dada and Surrealist Movements in Belgium and England as Artist, Poet and Dealer (doctoral thesis, University College London), 1980, p. 314.
D. Sylvester, ed., René Magritte, Catalogue raisonné, vol. I, Oil Paintings, 1916-1930, London, 1992, no. 83, p. 171 (illustrated).

Exhibited
Brussels, Galerie Le Centaure, Exposition Magritte, April - May 1927, no. 9, n.p.
Ghent, Socialistische Studiekring, 1935.
Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, René Magritte, May - June 1954, no. 5, p. 21.
Charleroi, Salle de la Bourse, XXXme salon [du] Cercle Royal Artistique et Littéraire de Charleroi, Rétrospective René Magritte, March 1956, no. 31.
Knokke, Casino Communal, XVème festival belge d'été, L'Oeuvre de René Magritte, July - August 1962, no. 4, p. 43 (illustrated p. 20).
Arnhem, Gemeentemuseum, Werkelijkheid en verbeelding: belgische surrealisten, July - September 1964, no. 25, n.p..
Brussels, Galerie Isy Brachot, Magritte: cent cinquante oeuvres, première vue mondiale de ses sculptures, January - February 1968, no. 27, n.p.
Basel, Fondation Beyeler, René Magritte, August - November 2005.