Old boat lift no.1 on the historic Canal du Centre, La Louviere, Belgium.
Flood barrier on Canal du Centre, near La Louviere, Belgium.
René François Ghislain Magritte (November 21, 1898– August 15, 1967) who was a Belgian surrealist artist
pornocrates
Felicien Rops’ most famous painting, Pornocrates (1896), is deliberately ambiguous and can be interpreted at a number of levels. Seen in terms of classical iconography, the semi-nude blindfolded Lady may be considered as an allegory of Dame Fortuna who allows herself to be led by lust (cochon, the French word for pig, which as with Italian, in a wide sense means lustful).
The work’s title, Pornocrates, refers to pornocrats - a corrupt democracy led by governors who rule by the primacy of physical gratification over ethics and education. Under the feet of the main subject, the dominions of the pornocrates are represented as sculpture, music, poetry and painting. The arts are trampled down and subdued by lust, bestowing a moral meaning to the otherwise erotic and libertine appearance of the painting on a first viewing.
