Belgium’s Magritte-Inspired Soccer Jersey Mirrors a Surreal World Cup
The pink-and-blue shirts feature one of the painter's lesser-known motifs, along with the phrase “This is not a jersey" in an homage to the artist.
The Belgian men's national soccer team's Away jersey shows motifs from René Magritte's “Voice of space (la voix des airs)” (1931) (left: photo courtesy Adidas; right: © 2023 C. Herscovici / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; courtesy Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation & Peggy Guggenheim Collection)
The Red Devils, the Belgian men's national soccer team, secured their place in the World Cup quarter-finals after annihilating the United States team 4–1 in Seattle last night. One might not have paid any attention to the Belgian team's pink-and-blue jerseys amid the drama of FIFA's overturned suspension of US forward Folarin Balogun and what transpired throughout the game, but the design's references to Belgian Surrealist painter René Magritte certainly channel the team's lofty performance.
Designed by Adidas, Belgium's away jerseys are speckled with a layered circular motif taken from Magritte's “Voice of space (la voix des airs)” (1931) — a painting in which three enormous metallic spheres levitate in a clear sky above a lush field of grass and wildflowers.
“I caused the iron bells hanging from the necks of our admirable horses to sprout like dangerous plants at the edge of an abyss,” Magritte wrote of his use of the jingle bell motif, which recurs in just a handful of his paintings.
The artist is best known for his propensity to distort the scale of everyday objects and situate them in incongruous environments to induce a simultaneous sensation of familiarity and discomfort, making him one of the best-known Surrealists.
While the jersey's pattern highlights a lesser-known motif of Magritte's — perhaps because of its similarity to the shape of a soccer ball — there's another a reference to one of the painter's most famous works on the shirt: The phrase “Ceci n'est pas un maillot,” which translates to “This is not a jersey,” is printed on the nape of the jersey in Magritte's painted penmanship, signifying an homage to the artist's “The Treachery of Images” (1929).
The celebration of Belgium's indelible impact on art history at one of the largest platforms in global sports seems novel, especially as the home jerseys simply use the national flag's colors and a fiery pattern in reference to the “Red Devils” team name. But international competitions like the World Cup and the Olympics prove time and time again that art and sports don't just complement each other — they bring people together ... for better or for worse.
The art world is also using the World Cup as an opportunity to celebrate sports history. The Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan is screening Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno’s “Zidane, a 21st century portrait,” a 2006 film devoted to French soccer legend Zinédine Zidane, until the last World Cup game on July 19.
