The COVID-19 pandemic made us all accustomed to seeing faces partially obscured. We developed a keener eye for subtle facial cues, such as the shape of eyes, eyebrows, and forehead.

The Surrealist painter René Magritte (1898-1967) often depicted faces partially or entirely concealed behind masks, cloth, or other objects. He challenged viewers to look beyond the surface and delve into the deeper layers of meaning.

The pandemic and Magritte's art challenge us to question our assumptions about what constitutes physical and emotional identity.