Duane Michals and René Magritte: Relationships between surrealism and photography

This article aims to shed light on the particularly surrealistic literary and pictorial influences that are evident in the work of American photographer Duane Michals. Thanks to an encounter with Belgian painter René Magritte, he develops his own aesthetics and language, transforms the photographer's gaze, changes his ideas about the image, and breaks with contemporary photography. The context of both artists’ life and work is presented along with some connections that made their meeting possible, personally and artistically. An analysis of some works by Michals reveals how the rendezvous with the painter was decisive for the transformation of his photographic work and the development of an extensive narrative and poetic language where photographic creation acts as a vehicle of creativity and imagination