René Magritte (1898-1967), L’explication

René Magritte (1898-1967)
L’explication
signed ‘Magritte’ (lower left); signed, dated and inscribed 'Magritte 1962 “L’EXPLICATION”' (on the reverse)
gouache on paper
14 1/8 x 10 3/4 in. (35.8 x 27.5 cm.)
Executed in 1962

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.

Provenance
Arturo Schwarz, Milan, by whom acquired directly from the artist; sale, Nuova Brera Arte, Milan, 26-28 November 1963, lot 161.
Anonymous sale, Sotheby’s, London, 1 April 1987, lot 402.
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.

Pre-Lot Text
PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT BRITISH COLLECTION

Literature
Letter from R. Magritte to A. Iolas, 26 September 1962.
Letter from R. Magritte to A. Bosmans, 1 November 1962.
Statement of account from R. Magritte to A. Iolas, 1 January 1963.
D. Sylvester, ed., René Magritte, Catalogue Raisonné, Gouaches, Temperas, Watercolours and Papiers Collés, vol. IV, 1918-1967, London, 1994, no. 1513, p. 245 (illustrated).

Exhibited
Milan, Galleria Arturo Schwarz, Magritte, December 1962.
Rome, L'Attico, Magritte, 9 January 1963.
Turin, Galleria Notizie, Magritte: opere scelte dal 1925 al 1962, March - April 1965, p. 12 (illustrated).
Rome, La Medusa, Studio d'Arte Contemporanea, René Magritte: selezione di dipinti dal 1925 al 1962, June 1965, no. 4 (illustrated).
Brussels, Galerie Isy Brachot, Le Surréalisme en Belgique I, April - July 1986, no. 20 (illustrated).
New York, Arnold Herstand & Co., René Magritte: Paintings, November - December 1986, pp. 38 & 46 (illustrated n.p.).
Paris, Musée Maillol, Magritte tout en papier, March - June 2006, p. 64 (illustrated p. 65).