Artist. He is known for creating a number of witty and thought-provoking images that often portray ordinary objects in an unusual context. His work is known for challenging one’s preconditioned perceptions of reality. In 1915, he began to paint in the Impressionistic style. He went to Brussels to receive art education from the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts but did not complete the training. It wasn’t until 1926 that his first painting, The Lost Jockey, came out and the following year, he held his first exhibition. Discouraged after being chided by art critics, he moved to Paris. There he joined the company of Andre Breton and came into contact with a group of surrealists. Staying in Paris for three years, he became a proponent of surrealism and a key figure in the movement. He returned to Brussels and remained there during its German occupation in World War II. This led to a break with Andre Breton after which, he briefly adopted a novel style of painting known as his “Renoir Period.” The paintings manifested his deep-seeded feeling of alienation and abandonment. After World War II, he experimented with a Fauve style called Magritte’s “Vache Period.” At the end of 1948, Magritte returned to the style and themes of his pre-war surrealistic art. Popular interest in his work grew in the 1960s, and his imagery has influenced pop, minimalist, and conceptual art. His work was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in 1965. Although he died in 1967 of pancreatic cancer, much of his work is still on display today in his hometown and around the world. In 2005 he was 9th in the Walloon version of De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian) and in the Flemish version he was 18th. In France, his work has been shown in retrospective exhibitions, most recently at the Centre Georges Pompidou (2016 to 2017). His work has also been featured at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1992 and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2013. An exhibition entitled "The Fifth Season" at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2018 focused on the work of his later years.
Artist. He is known for creating a number of witty and thought-provoking images that often portray ordinary objects in an unusual context. His work is known for challenging one’s preconditioned perceptions of reality. In 1915, he began to paint in the Impressionistic style. He went to Brussels to receive art education from the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts but did not complete the training. It wasn’t until 1926 that his first painting, The Lost Jockey, came out and the following year, he held his first exhibition. Discouraged after being chided by art critics, he moved to Paris. There he joined the company of Andre Breton and came into contact with a group of surrealists. Staying in Paris for three years, he became a proponent of surrealism and a key figure in the movement. He returned to Brussels and remained there during its German occupation in World War II. This led to a break with Andre Breton after which, he briefly adopted a novel style of painting known as his “Renoir Period.” The paintings manifested his deep-seeded feeling of alienation and abandonment. After World War II, he experimented with a Fauve style called Magritte’s “Vache Period.” At the end of 1948, Magritte returned to the style and themes of his pre-war surrealistic art. Popular interest in his work grew in the 1960s, and his imagery has influenced pop, minimalist, and conceptual art. His work was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in 1965. Although he died in 1967 of pancreatic cancer, much of his work is still on display today in his hometown and around the world. In 2005 he was 9th in the Walloon version of De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian) and in the Flemish version he was 18th. In France, his work has been shown in retrospective exhibitions, most recently at the Centre Georges Pompidou (2016 to 2017). His work has also been featured at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1992 and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2013. An exhibition entitled "The Fifth Season" at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2018 focused on the work of his later years.
Bio by: Glendora
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