Bruce McCombs

René-François-Ghislain Magritte, born on November 21, 1898, in Lessines, Belgium, and died on August 15, 1967, in Brussels, was a pivotal surrealist artist. Known for infusing humor and mystery in his art through unexpected juxtapositions and irregularities, his work often featured motifs like bowler hats, apples, and hidden faces. Magritte's childhood was marred by his mother's suicide when he was fourteen. He studied at the Brussels Academy of Fine Arts and initially worked in advertising and as a wallpaper designer. Marrying his childhood acquaintance, Georgette Berger, Magritte fully committed to art after a contract with the Brussels Art Gallery in 1926. His first surrealist piece, "The Lost Jockey," marked the beginning of his revolutionary style, though initially met with criticism. Moving to Paris in 1927, Magritte joined avant-garde circles, befriending surrealists like André Breton. His work, including the famous "The Treachery of Images" with its paradoxical statement "Ceci n’est pas une pipe," challenged conventional perceptions. Returning to Brussels in 1930, he gained international acclaim, with exhibitions in New York and London. Today, Magritte's legacy is preserved in two Brussels museums: the biographical René Magritte Museum, located in his former home, and The Magritte Museum, showcasing over 250 of his works.