Not to be Reproduced is a painting by the Belgian

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 surrealist

Surrealism

Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....

 René Magritte

René Magritte

René François Ghislain Magritte[p] was a Belgian surrealist artist. He became well known for a number of witty and thought-provoking images...

. It currently is owned by the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

The Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is the main art museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The museum began in 1847 with the collection of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans . Much of the museum's original collection was destroyed in a disastrous 1864 fire...

 in Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

.

This painting was commissioned by poet and Magritte patron Edward James

Edward James

Edward William Frank James was a British poet known for his patronage of the surrealist art movement.-Early life and marriage:...

 and is considered a portrait of James although James' face is not depicted. This painting was one of three produced by Magritte for the ballroom of James' London home. The other two were The Red Model (1937) and Time Transfixed

Time Transfixed

Time Transfixed is an oil on canvas painting by the Belgian surrealist René Magritte. It is part of the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago and is usually on display in the museum's new Modern Wing, though currently it is on loan to the Tate Liverpool as part of their Magritte...

(1938).

The work depicts a man standing in front of a mirror, however, where the book on the mantelpiece is reflected correctly, the man can see only the back of his head.

Connections to Other Paintings

Magritte painted another portrait of Edward James titled The Pleasure Principle (1937). It depicts James from the front sitting at a table; however, his face is obscured by a bright flash like that produced by a camera flash.

The book on the mantle is a well-worn copy of Edgar Allan Poe's

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...

 The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket is the only complete novel written by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The work relates the tale of the young Arthur Gordon Pym, who stows away aboard a whaling ship called the Grampus...

(written here in French as Les aventures d'Arthur Gordon Pym). Poe was one of Magritte's favorite authors and he made other references to the author and his work. For example, the title of the painting The Domain of Arnheim (1938) was taken from the Poe short story of the same name.