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The author explores the notion of negation as a source of artistic creativity. The aim is to read Freud’s text while looking at the works of certain artists (Magritte, Beckett) on negation, in particular by questioning the binary opposition between negation and affirmation. The works of these artists produce oxymorons that elude a judgement that makes a decision (Freud), leaving the issue of whether the decision is true or false open. Thus for Magritte, the negation “this is not a pipe” does not lead to the affirmation “this is a pipe”. The author’s theoretical reference is W. R. Bion, whose model of the mental apparatus can account for these processes. “Negative capability” is a form of negation, but one that opens up a field of transformations which are the source of artistic creations, as illustrated by the analytical encounter between Beckett and Bion.