Who was Rene Magritte?
- Birth name: René François Ghislain Magritte
- Surreal artist
- Born on November 21 1898 in Lessines, Belgium
- Died August 15 1967 (68 years old) in Brussels, Belgium
- Oldest son to Léopold Magritte
- Influenced pop, minimalist and conceptual art
- Surreal artist
- Born on November 21 1898 in Lessines, Belgium
- Died August 15 1967 (68 years old) in Brussels, Belgium
- Oldest son to Léopold Magritte
- Influenced pop, minimalist and conceptual art
THe LIFE OF RENE MAGRITTE
- Took drawing lessons in 1910
- March 12 1912: Mother drowned herself in the River Sambre
- Made multiple suicide attempts before Leopold locked her in a bedroom (escaped, missing for days)
- His moms dress was apparently covering her face when her body was found, inspired Les Amants painting
- Earliest paintings 1915 (Impressionistic)
- studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels from 1916-1918
- thought it was uninspiring
- paintings from 1918-1924 were part of futism and cubism (mostly female nudes)
- married Georgette Berger
- met her as a kid in 1913
- worked in Belgian infantry from December 1920 to September 1921
- worked in a wallpaper factory and designed poster ads until 1926
- contract with Galerie le Centaure let him be a painter full time
- 1926: Magritte’s first surreal painting, The Lost Jockey (Le jockey perdu)
- 1927: held his first exhibition
- Critics put down the exhibition
- Moved to Paris because of depression, met André Breton, joined surrealism group
- Galerie la Centaure closed at the end of 1929 which ended the contract
- Magritte returned to Brussels in 1930 to advertise again
- Magritte and his brother Paul, formed an agency
- British surrealist Edward James let Magritte stay in his home to paint
- In 1943 during WWII he used a colourful style of paintings for a year
- People called it the "Renoir Period" because it showed his reaction to Germany taking over Belgium
- 1947-48: “Vache period” painted in crude Fauve style
- After that he went back to surrealism
- Work was in 3 different exhibitions in New York (1936, Museum of Modern Art in 1965, Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1992)
- Died from pancreatic cancer
- Magritte’s work became popular in the 60’s
- March 12 1912: Mother drowned herself in the River Sambre
- Made multiple suicide attempts before Leopold locked her in a bedroom (escaped, missing for days)
- His moms dress was apparently covering her face when her body was found, inspired Les Amants painting
- Earliest paintings 1915 (Impressionistic)
- studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels from 1916-1918
- thought it was uninspiring
- paintings from 1918-1924 were part of futism and cubism (mostly female nudes)
- married Georgette Berger
- met her as a kid in 1913
- worked in Belgian infantry from December 1920 to September 1921
- worked in a wallpaper factory and designed poster ads until 1926
- contract with Galerie le Centaure let him be a painter full time
- 1926: Magritte’s first surreal painting, The Lost Jockey (Le jockey perdu)
- 1927: held his first exhibition
- Critics put down the exhibition
- Moved to Paris because of depression, met André Breton, joined surrealism group
- Galerie la Centaure closed at the end of 1929 which ended the contract
- Magritte returned to Brussels in 1930 to advertise again
- Magritte and his brother Paul, formed an agency
- British surrealist Edward James let Magritte stay in his home to paint
- In 1943 during WWII he used a colourful style of paintings for a year
- People called it the "Renoir Period" because it showed his reaction to Germany taking over Belgium
- 1947-48: “Vache period” painted in crude Fauve style
- After that he went back to surrealism
- Work was in 3 different exhibitions in New York (1936, Museum of Modern Art in 1965, Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1992)
- Died from pancreatic cancer
- Magritte’s work became popular in the 60’s