A paradoxical painting of a scene that could have never existed has set a new record auction price for surrealist Belgian artist René Magritte.
Depicting a night-time Brussels street under a bright blue sky, L’Empire des Lumieres — Empire of Light — sold for a hammer price of 51.5 million pounds ($94.5 million) on Thursday.
Additional fees gave it a final sale price of 59.422 million pounds ($109 million).
The 1961 painting had an estimate in excess of more than 45 million pounds ($82.6 million).