1/ TIL that this René Magritte painting is called Golconda.
Why did a Belgian surrealist painter name this after a dilapidated fort in Hyderabad, India?

In the past, Golconda was synonymous for a "mine of wealth" as diamonds like the Koh-i-noor were found in surrounding mines.

2/ The straightforward theory is that the painting is called Golconda because Magritte's poet friend Louis Scutenaire suggested it.

Magritte even snuck Louis into the painting. Apparently, you can see him peeking by the chimney of the house on the right

3/ Louis was extremely critical of the increasing commercialization of surrealist paintings.

Perhaps the title Golconda was a dig at how Magritte was mining his paintings for money

I have another theory, humour me if you will.

Trigger Warning: Suicide

4/ Bowler Hats & the Bourgeoise

The men in this painting are wearing Magritte's trademark bowler hats. These were generally worn by people in banking & business.

While the men in Golconda all look alike from a distance - if you zoom in  -  they all have distinct drab faces.

5/ My interpretation: The painting is called Golconda as Magritte saw the bankers as "resources". Further, the bankers "mined the wealth" of others

They are so busy that they don't realize that they are the ones exploited by capitalism. Though well dressed they look depressed

4/ The men seem to be stricken by the feeling of "anomie". Anomie is used to describe the feelings of alienation & purposelessness.

This term was coined by one of the founders of sociology Émile Durkheim in his book Division of Labour in Society which talks of class divide.

5/ Anomie is caused when there is a conflict of belief systems- when an individual's ideology is diff from that of the collective.

Traditionally, society shared similar values due to religion. Due to capitalism, individuals began to start valuing individual wealth> collective.

6/ Per Durkheim, when a man became selfish and egoistic - he became alienated or "anomic". As a result they became separated from society.

Perhaps that is why the men in Golconda are spatially separated from each other and are free fallin'.

7/ Subsequently, he talked again of anomie in his book Le Suicide.

Durkheim concluded that the more socially integrated and connected a person is, the less likely they are to commit suicide. As social integration decreases or anomie rises, ppl are more likely to commit suicide.

8/ He groundbreakingly argued that suicide can have origins in larger social causes rather than being just due to an individual's temperament.

Today while there is so much emphasis on #selfcare, we need to once again hold society collectively responsible for our mental health.

9/ Maybe Magritte didn't think so much when he painted this. It is a surrealist painting after all. The world is surreal enough as it is right now!

But perhaps as Todd said: "Isn't the point of art less what people put into it, and more what people get out of it?"

I'll conclude with another Bojack quote: In this terrifying world, all we have are the connections that we make

Hope you check-in on your frens as much as you check your Twitter

Thanks for coming for my TED talk on why this painting is called Golconda instead of "Raining Men"