When you look at this picture by René Magritte, what words come to mind?  Strange?  Unreal?  Mysterious?  Dreamlike?  Confusing?  All these words apply to Magritte’s work, because his aim was to stir up uneasy or confused feelings in the observer by combining objects that usually don’t go together.  Even his titles add to your confusion.  Some artists spend their lives painting pictures that they hope will be considered beautiful or decorative, but not Magritte.  He wanted to startle people by presenting something mysterious. He captured attention with paintings that were considered strange, that couldn’t be explained.  Only the artist knew what they meant.  Do you like this picture?  Would you want to hang it in your home so you could see it every day?  It is painted in the Surrealist style that means it is like a dream image that explores the imagination and enters the world of fantasy.  He must have liked it because he painted 10 versions of it.  As you first look at the picture, it appears to be realistic, unlike most of his other paintings.  But as you study it, you realize that it is odd.  You see a two-story house with a third story window on the right.  All the windows are closed.  Two of them are lighted, but something about the house makes it appear empty.  There is no front door.  The house and the trees are in darkness – so dark that a street light is needed to illuminate the front.  But look at the sky.  It is bright daylight with blue sky and white clouds.  The sun is apparently shining.  The pond in front of the house does not reflect the bright sky, but does reflect the dark house and the lights.  Does anybody live in the house?  Notice the striking contrast between the bright sky and the tall, dark tree.  The picture appears to be showing you both day and night.  There is almost no color.  The house is white but looks dim in the darkness.  The lamp casts two shadows that are reflected in the pond in front of the house.  Notice how Magritte repeats vertical lines in the windows and tall corner of the house on the right, and how this contrasts with the low horizontal wall in almost total darkness on the right.  Is there something about the picture that makes you uneasy?  That was Magritte’s intention.  He liked for people to think his work was spooky.