Persephone - A series of springtime observations

Part four in a six-part series, in which Marilyn Bouma observes and records the remarkable arrival of spring.

May 22, 2020

The Empire or Dominion of the Lights?

I have always admired René Magritte’s The Empire of the Lights series. They depict the paradoxical image of a nighttime scene lit by a single street lamp beneath a daytime sky.

The French title is L’empire des lumières which is ambiguous in translation becoming either empire or dominion. Empire exists in relation to a ruler, a dominion does not necessarily require this. Maybe dominion is more expansive – not just geo-political.

Domain means an area or territory owned or controlled by a ruler or a government.

Empire means an extensive group of states or countries under a single supreme authority or ruler such as an emperor or empress, king or queen. Or it is a large commercial organization owned or controlled by one person or group.

Domaine actually refers to French estate on which wine is made – a vineyard. Perhaps that is simply what Magritte was alluding to: the comforts of life – light and wine! Or perhaps this single house could be in the countryside as well as a city street.

Dominion is featured in Genesis, the creation narrative in the Bible:

“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds in the air and over every living thing that moves upon the face of the earth.”

Is this a command for control and exploitation of the Earth?
Or is it a call for stewardship, to care for and nurture the planet?

And why does Magritte give this house scene with the single street lamp such a grandiose title? Is he saying that a single lamp and a few lit windows rule the darkness of night? Is it to create a sense of comfort that comes from lights that shine in the dark? Is it light that wards off the fear of the dark and the unknown?

Light is one of the most universal symbols – a symbol of goodness, knowledge, wisdom, grace and hope – of the spiritual and divine, of illumination. Maybe he was just intrigued by the darkness of night with flickering lights creating an enchanted, mystical and mysterious world. Maybe as an artist he just followed his instincts on what inspired him to create. I have always loved running at night especially in winter. It does make the ordinary daytime world look dreamlike.

I created a few paintings with this concept. Under these big skies one feels very small and awestruck by the changing beauty – like someone is using a giant paintbrush to create these ever-changing skyscapes. Something much bigger than us and in the end we stand in awe of nature.

The Empire or Dominion of the Lights, Part I

This painting (top) is a view of my backyard in late winter. It was the night of the full moon. Maybe this is when I thought about Magritte’s Empire of the Lights series. The night sky, lit up by the moon, was an inky blue, but I painted the daytime sky with white clouds and yet still felt compelled to include the moon. The tree in the centre was a magnificent ash that had died but I kept the structure of the trunk. In the summer the surrounding trees fill in with leaves and the ash still takes centre stage. I love that ash tree.

The Empire or Dominion of the Lights, Part II

This painting is a view across a elementary school yard in my neighbourhood. This sky hovers between daytime and falling into dusk. The houses look somewhat foreboding but the glowing lights create a sense of domesticity and comfort.

The Empire or Dominion of the Lights, Part III

I have witnessed this almost daytime sky with a night street scene in early March during a run at dusk with the white clouds etched against a very blue sky and the house in darkness. This house is around the corner from mine on a slight hill; I pass by there regularly.