René Magritte was a Belgian surrealist painter. He was born in Lessines, Belgium on November 21,1898. He was raised in a middle-class family and began taking drawing lessons at a young age. He started painting soon after his mother was found drowned in the River Sambre, the result of suicide. His early paintings are done in the style of Impressionism.
Magritte studied for two years at the Academie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. After this, his paintings became heavily influenced by Futurism, and most of his paintings were female nudes.
At the age of 24 Magritte married Georgette Berger whom he had known since childhood. Magritte worked many odd jobs, including working as a draughtsman and designing advertisements, until he was able to paint full-time in 1926. At this time Magritte created his first piece of surrealist artwork called The Lost Jockey.
Magritte had his first exhibition in 1927 in Brussels. After the exhibition he was subjected to harsh criticism and moved to Paris as a result of this. At this time Magritte went back to working making advertisements. Magritte remained in Brussels at the time of World War II. In order to survive during this time, he made fraudulent copies of artwork by Picasso, Braque, and Chirico. He also made fraudulent banknotes. In order to deal with the harshness of living in Brussels during the war, Magritte briefly adopted a new style of painting known as the “Renoir Period.” This style of painting was more bright and flowery than what was common for Magritte. After the war, he was able to go back to his real passion, Surrealism.
In 1955 he painted The Promenades of Euclid. At first the painting appears to be a window overlooking a castle. When you look closely though, you can see that the castle is actually a painting sitting on an easel.
Magritte wanted his artwork to be an experience. Another set of interesting pieces by Magritte are The Lovers. Legend says that after his mother was found drowned in the Sambre River Magritte witnessed her body, with her face wrapped in a sheet. This proved to be a very tramautic experience for him, understandably. Some think that this served as inspiration for these pieces of artwork.
Magritte’s artwork has been displayed many times in the United States. It has been included in several premiere exhibitions including the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While many may be unable to understand the meaning behind Magritte’s artwork, that seems to be okay with him. He explains his artwork in this quote, ” I paint visible images that conceal nothing; they evoke mystery, and indeed, when one sees my pictures, one asks oneself this simple question. ‘What does it mean?’ It does not mean anything because mystery means nothing either, it is unknowable.”
Magritte painted The Son of Man three years before his death. The painting depicts a man in a hat standing with an apple covering his face. One possible explanation of this is that it is a subtle nod towards Adam eating the forbidden fruit in the first chapter of the Bible.
After suffering from Pancreatic cancer for a few years, Magritte died in 1967 and he was buried in Brussels. Magritte was a wonderful surreal artist who has had a large influence on many artists to this day. Although the meaning behind his paintings is not always evident, and possibly even nonexistent, his artwork is very influential.
by Alex Angel