MAGRITTE (René). Autograph letter signed to writer... Lot 21

MAGRITTE (René). Autograph letter signed to writer Marcel Béalu. Brussels, [September 21, 1953 according to postmark]. One p. 3/4 in-8, signed envelope retained. "My dear Béalu, thank you for "La Légende des siècles" [published by Marcel Béalu in 1953, with illustrations by Flora Klee-Palyi], which I immediately read with great attention. What strikes me as very commendable - in addition to the qualities of your writing - is that the "subject" you're talking about is hardly "interesting" to those who assess a subject by its "topical" capacity. And yet, IF THERE IS ONE REALLY topical subject, IT IS LIFE AND DEATH. We can honestly say that insofar as something is "topical", such as a sensational political speech, it is totally impotent when it comes to what really concerns us. Your "Legend of the Centuries" escapes the impotence of most literary exercises, which are the delights of the amusing or sinister maniacs who are strictly linked to "current affairs" - "the chubby, pink old men" says much more than the laborious scientific works which, believing themselves to be concerned with life and death, are talking about something else altogether: strictly science. So, fortunately, scientific investigation could only talk nonsense (or deflect the question) if it ventured to explain to you why "everything around him and his own stay in these places had no more reality than dreams." Sincerely yours... " ATTACHED: RAFFAËLLI (Jean-François). Autograph letter signed. Paris, May 28, 1917. "I have given such a number, and for such a value, of my paintings that I cannot send you anything..." (3/4 p. in-12). "LE PAYS... IS HOWEVER VERY BEAUTIFUL... I WORK THERE A LOT (DRAWINGS, WATERCOLORS, PAINTING)...".