Magritte

René Magritte (1898 – 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist. He is best known for his thought-provoking surrealist images presenting objects in an unusual context, having viewers question their perceptions of reality.

Magritte was born to a wealthy manufacturer father. In 1912, his mother committed suicide by drowning herself in the River Sambre, which is said to have influenced Magritte’s use of imagery in his later work. Magritte started drawing lessons at the age of 10 and later studied at the Academie des Beaux-Art located in Brussels. However, he found the lessons uninspiring and left after two years. His paintings at that time reflected cubist influences close to Pablo Picasso’s approach, until he discovered Surrealism as his preferred style. In 1927, Magritte had his first solo-exhibition at a gallery in Brussels, which was strongly criticized by the public. Depressed by the failure, he moved to Paris where he became involved in the Surrealist group. Together with artists like Salvador Dalí, de Chirico, Max Ernst, Joan Miró, and Pablo Picasso, he exhibited at the Parisian Goemans Gallery. He moved back to Brussels after three years, celebrated his first solo exhibition in the United States at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York 1936, later at the London Gallery in 1938.

Today, Magritte’s work is being showcased regularly in retrospective exhibitions, most recently at the Centre Georges Pompidou (2016–2017).