An anonymous Belgian collector has lent a rare work by René Magritte to the Israel Museum while the artist’s iconic painting The Castle of the Pyrenees undergoes restoration following accidental damage.
The smaller work, painted in gouache on paper in 1962, presents another version of Magritte’s famous image of a castle perched atop an enormous rock floating in the sky. It will be displayed at the museum over the coming months, until conservation work on the original 1959 oil painting is completed.
The Castle of the Pyrenees was damaged approximately two months ago when a five-year-old boy visiting the museum with his family pushed a pinecone toward the painting, causing a small tear in the canvas.
The museum immediately activated its emergency procedures for damaged artworks. The painting was carefully removed from the gallery and transferred to the conservation laboratory, where specialists are stabilizing the canvas, painstakingly reconnecting its fibers under a microscope, and restoring the paint layers using conservation materials and techniques.
The 1959 painting is considered one of Magritte’s masterpieces and one of the best-known and most beloved works in the Israel Museum’s collection.
A highlight of modern art galleries
It was donated to the museum in 1985 by Jewish lawyer and art collector Harry Torczyner, a close friend of Magritte and a long-time supporter of the museum. Torczyner commissioned the painting directly from the artist and purchased it from him.
From its completion in 1959 until it arrived in Israel, the work hung in Torczyner’s New York office. Since joining the museum’s collection, it has been displayed regularly and has become a highlight of its modern art galleries.
After hearing about the damage and the ongoing restoration, the anonymous collector offered to lend the museum the 1962 gouache, which Magritte created three years after completing the oil painting.
“The generous gesture allows our visitors to encounter one of the most important artists of the 20th century while his iconic original work receives comprehensive treatment and will soon return to display,” Israel Museum director Prof. Yasha Jacob Grobman said.
The gouache was previously displayed at the Israel Museum in the 2022 exhibition Floating with Magritte: In the Footsteps of The Castle of the Pyrenees.
Meanwhile, the original oil painting is being treated in the museum’s open conservation laboratory, where visitors can observe the restoration process and gain a close-up view of the complex work usually carried out behind the scenes.
Once the conservation process is completed, the painting is expected to return to its permanent place in the museum’s galleries.