Rene Magritte

1898-1967 Belgian painter. Among the 20th Century Painters

In 1922 he began his career as a graphic artist, drawing motifs for wallpaper.

Influenced by Futurism and Cubism. He was very much influenced by Giorgio de Chirico at the beginning of his career, (1925). He launched Surrealism in Belgium. His style included literal, photorealistic images having illusionistic elements portraying poetic ideas. His own brand of surrealism was labeled magic realism.

Recurring images in his paintings include:

• the man with the bowler hat, sometimes thought to represent the artist, sometimes to represent the bourgeous- sometimes individuals, other times in groups
• fire
• birds
• large rocks

Some of his paintings:

• The Conquerer 1925
• The Lovers 1928
• The Treachery of Images which contains the words: Ceci n'est pas une pipe (This is not a pipe)
• On The Threshold of Liberty 1929
• The Dominion of Light 1949-1964
• Personal Values 1952

Artists associated with Magritte:

• Giorgio de Chirico
• Salvador Dali
• Marcel Duchamp
• Andre Breton
• Max Ernst
• Yves Tanguy
• Jean Arp
• Joan Miro

His work is in the permanent collections of many museums around the world, including:

• The Museum of Modern Art in New York
• Philadelphia Museum of Art
• Centre Pompidou in Paris
• Art Institute of Chicago
• National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC

Sources:
http://www.magritte.com/3.cfm
Rubin, William S., "Dada, Surrealism, and Their Heritage", Museum of Modern Art, NY, 1968.
Last Updated 12.30.03

Another typical theme which exemplifies his juxtapositions is the day/night combination. Magritte would paint a house which was completely covered in darkness except for the lights which were turned on -- it was night. However, the sky would be bright blue -- it was day. The two are some how blended flawlessly, and I have to admit I didn't realize that there was anything wrong with the painting for quite some time. Pretty amazing.

As for the story of his mother, one night while the rest of the house slept, she got up, walked to a nearby bridge (still in her night gown), and jumped in. When her body was finally recovered, washed up on the shore, her night gown was wrapped around her head - almost exactly like the two kissing in The Lovers.