Subtle historical connections between Magritte and Einstein

Fleck replies: Alexandre Losev’s intriguing suggestion of a René Magritte–Albert Einstein connection through the French philosopher Henri Bergson and his idea of “personally experienced time (la durée)” would, if confirmed, locate “Einsteinian subtleties in Magritte’s Time Transfixed ” more firmly within contextual, historical evidence, thereby elevating the subtle connections I point out beyond the level of mere coincidence. A more thorough search for possible links between Magritte and Einstein—such as may be recorded in the multivolume Einstein Meets Magritte, referenced by Losev; Magritte’s Écrits complets (1979), edited by André Blavier in French; and the multivolume René Magritte Catalogue Raisonné (1992–2012)—certainly seems warranted.

The influence of Einstein and modern physics on other surrealists, most notably Salvador Dalí, is well documented. Both artists and scientists observe and interpret the world around us; we should not be at all surprised to find commonalities in their creations.