The Treachery of Tobacconists?

(artinfo.com) Recent research by Tim Airgeeten, an art historian from the University of Toronto, suggests that Belgian surrealist René Magritte's iconic painting, "The Treachery of Images," may be an encoded condemnation of his least favorite cigar company. The painting, fashioned in the style of a tobacco store advertisement, pictures a brown pipe floating above the phrase "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" ("This is not a pipe"). The work is traditionally interpreted as a commentary on the imitative nature of art — the wooden pipe in the painting is, of course, a representation of a pipe rather than the physical pipe itself. But a document recently unearthed by Airgeeten suggests that the image might have held additional, more personal significance for the artist, an avid pipe-smoker. Continued