Description René Magritte 1898 - 1967 L'Empire des lumières signed (lower right); titled "L'Empire des lumières," numbered III and dated 1951 (on the reverse) oil on canvas 31 ⅝ by 25 ⅞ in. 80.3 by 65.7 cm. Executed in August—September 1951. Provenance Alexander Iolas, New York (acquired from the artist) William Alexander, New York (probably acquired from the above) David Geffen, Los Angeles (acquired from the above through Pace Gallery in 1979) Acquired from the above in 1979 by the present ownerLiterature Letter from Magritte to Iolas, 14 August 1951 "Surrealism with a Smile,"  Time Magazine , vol. LXI, no. 11, 16 March 1953, p. 77, illustrated in color Harry Torczyner, Magritte: Ideas and Images , 1977, no. 385, p. 179, illustrated Sarah Whitfield and Michael Raeburn; David Sylvester, ed., Rene Magritte: Catalogue Raisonné , vol. III, London, 1993, no. 768, p. 187, illustrated Exhibited New York, Iolas Gallery, René Magritte , 1953 New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art,  Summer Loan Exhibition,  1979, n.n.