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An extraordinary artwork by this famed avant-garde artist René Magritte which has remained within a single private possession for more than nine decades is scheduled to be sold later this month.

This Captivating Story Behind the Artwork

The painting was first acquired through the relatives of Suzanne Spaak, a Second World War underground heroine that acted as the artist's supporter at a period when he had financial troubles economically and had failed to sell any work for two years.

She was executed by the Gestapo in Paris due to her efforts in helping Jewish children find safety.

Sale Estimates with Expectations

The auction house has estimated that the artwork may fetch in the range of €5m to €7m, however many expect it to achieve a much higher price.

This is the initial instance I’ve managed an important Magritte work that has remained with one family since its creation,” stated an senior art market executive. “It is remarkable, just like the story behind the owners.”

The official also described the painting as the superstar of surrealism,” noting how “If you were to ask some schoolchildren to prepare a report on the surrealist movement, this painting alone could be enough to define the movement.”

The Artist's Early Struggles and Professional Growth

This Belgian-born painter initially was employed as an artist in a wallpaper plant and produced commercial ads before the mid-1920s, when he created his debut surrealist work.

The following year, he had his first exhibition in Brussels, however reviewers were savage so a dismayed the artist relocated to Paris, where he was unable to establish a name for himself.

He went back to Belgium by 1930 and established a commercial art business alongside his brother Paul Magritte.

The artist's life was quite hard at this time. The Great Depression that started in 1929 in America hit the French economy by the early 1930s. For two years, between 1930 to 1932, he sold no works and held no exhibitions,” the expert explained.

No one was buying paintings by surrealists. They were viewed as radical agitators.”

The Influence of the Benefactors

Spaak’s husband, Claude Spaak, a well-known Belgian-born writer, was acquainted with Magritte acting as a benefactor, ordering paintings of his wife and children while also arranging regular financial support for the artist and his family.

In 1934, the sister Alice, called Bunny, bought the painting to mark the arrival of her first child with Emile, an industrial industrialist.

This family was to Belgium what the Mountbattens were to the UK; almost aristocratic and they pulled Magritte out of difficulty,” the art specialist said. The purchase was made to commemorate the arrival of a child but it was a rebirth for the painter as he was trying to recover financially.”

Painting Features and Symbolism

The model in this series had been his spouse, Georgette, who is portrayed in a classic style resembling a sculpted figure placing her hand on a stone block.

Her torso slowly merges into the sky in the background whereas her lower body retains its realistic coloring.

The artist later created ten comparable portraits, many of them received different names. In this work, the first in the series, Georgette appears with a dove on her right shoulder.

One-third of the backdrop shows a partially paneled wall inside.

Her Courageous Underground Work

Suzanne and Claude Spaak resided in Paris at the outbreak of war in the late 1930s.

After the German takeover of the French capital, she became part of the underground and served as a member in the “Red Orchestra” spy ring.

She employed her wealth to save 163 Jewish children from being deported, hiding a number of them at her home before they could be moved to secure locations.

Final Outcome with Legacy

By late 1943, German forces captured Spaak along with 600 members of the Red Orchestra.

On August 12, 1944, days before the freeing of the city, Nazi agents killed Spaak in her prison cell. She was 38 and has since been honoured by the state of Israel among the Righteous Among the Nations for her actions to save Jewish people.

The artist passed away of pancreatic cancer on 15 August 1967 and rests in the Belgian capital.

Display and Auction Timeline

This artwork, which has been displayed at the Magritte museum in Belgium, has seldom been exhibited outside Belgium over 90 years.

La Magie Noire will be shown in the French capital from 17 and 23 October before its sale on October 24.