Artist’s Profile

Rene Magritte 1898-1967

Rene Francois-Ghislain Magritte was born in 1898 in Lessines, Belgium.  Today, he is considered one of the most influential and inspirational surrealistic painters, but, as often is the case, his work was not well accepted early in his career.  His more representational style of surrealism is fascinating and engaging, often witty and amusing.  This is quite different from the more automatic surrealism of peers such as Joan Miro, who was famous for his “all over the canvas” painting, expressing his thoughts and subconscious.  In contrast, Magritte’s work was more ingenious.  He used images in repetition and in odd positions to convey a sense of humor and entertainment. 

Some of Rene Magritte’s works were influenced by an early trauma, which became a prominent issue in an extensive series of paintings.  His mother committed suicide in 1912 by drowning herself.  Magritte was present when her body was retrieved from the River Sambre.  As she was pulled out of the water, her clothing floated over her face, obscuring it—an image that haunted Magritte.

At age 15, Rene’s formal education began when he entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, where he studied until 1918.   While at the Academy, he met Georgette Berger, whom he married in 1922.  Before their marriage, Magritte had spent one year in the military. 

Magritte’s early career actually began with work as a designer in the wallpaper industry.  He excelled in the mastery of repeated designs, a theme that occurs often in the canvas paintings that followed.  During 1926, Magritte was fortunate enough to win a contract for guaranteed salary for one year.  The contract was with Galerie la Centaure in Brussels, and this allowed him to paint full time.  His first surrealistic painting was completed that year (The Lost Jockey) and his first exhibit was held in Brussels in 1927. 

Critics were not kind to Magritte.  Greatly affected by the reviews, Rene moved to Paris where he became friends with Andre Breton, poet and founder of the surrealist movement in Paris, and he became active with that group. 

When the contract with Galerie la Centaure ended, Magritte formed a design agency with his brother.  This partnership afforded him a respectable living through their work in the advertising industry. 

In WWII, German occupation of Belgium was basically ignored by Magritte.  He stayed in Brussels, thus losing the friendship of Andre Breton, who could not accept his lack of fervor against the terrors of war.  At this time, Magritte assumed a pacifist posture and eliminated all conflict, violence and pessimism from his work.  Such images did, however, return in some of his later works.

In 1936, Magritte exhibited in the United States in New York; and  two retrospective exhibitions have been held in New York, one at the Museum of Modern Art in 1965 only two years before his death and the other at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1992.

As a perfectionist and talented technician, Magritte’s work displays a juxtaposition of ordinary objects in an unusual context, giving new meaning to familiar things.  The representational use of objects placed in unusual situations is a trademark of his paintings.  Critics often drew parallels between those common objects and Freudian interpretations.  But, Magritte refused to justify those comparisons, stating only that his images were true depictions of common items.  He did, however, admit to dreaming some of the everyday items in odd places, which he then incorporated into even more “fantastic” paintings.  He did not use hallucinations or dreams as the only source; his works were interpretations and not exact depictions.

Magritte died of pancreatic cancer on August 15, 1967 and was interred in Schaarbeek Cemetery in Brussels.  His paintings continue to be enjoyed today for their dreamlike qualities. 

Exhibition

Magritte and Contemporary Art:  The Treachery of Images is at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (CA) through March 4.  This is the first exhibition to fully explore the impact of Magritte’s work on U.S. and European artists of the post-war generation.  Approximately 45 paintings are on exhibit, including many of his signature images, along with an equal number of paintings and sculptures by international artists of the past forty years.  Highlighted is Magritte’s masterpiece, The Treachery of Images (This is not a pipe), a seminal painting and popular culture icon.

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 17 No. 4 — February 2007