René Magritte
Born – Lessines, Belgium 1898
Died – Brussels, Belgium 1967
René Magritte initially worked in wallpaper design and fashion advertising. His early paintings were inspired by Futurism and Cubism but, under the influence of de Chirico, he turned to Surrealism in 1925. Between 1927 and 1930 Magritte worked in Paris with the other Surrealists. He then settled in Brussels for the rest of his life. He painted convincing illusionistic images in a flat, deadpan style of disturbing clarity. His paintings presented a range of bizarre juxtapositions of ordinary objects in strange and incongruous surrounds. The Reckless Sleeper exploits the ambiguity of dreams, typically making use of unexpected distortions of size and scale as well as humour. Magritte frequently featured paintings within paintings in his works, as well as names and labels to question the relationship between painted and real objects. In his absurd and unnerving world, there are many recurring images, such as men with bowler hats and fish with human legs. Magritte was not widely known until after the Second World War. His work became familiar through its use in advertising and graphic design; he is now one of the most popular painters of the twentieth century.
Masterpieces:
- Time Transfixed
- Promenades of Euclid
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Books About rene magritte
Rene Magritte 1898-1967: Thoughts Rendered Visible (Basic Art)
Marcel Paquet
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Magritte: Attempting the Impossible
Siegfried Gohr
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Magritte
David Sylvester
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