Magritte, René François Ghislain

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Belgian painter, one of the major figures in surrealism. His work, characteristic of surrealist ideas, focuses on visual paradoxes and everyday objects taken out of context. Recurring motifs include bowler hats, apples, and windows, for example Golconda (1953; private collection), in which men in bowler hats are falling from the sky to a street below.

Magritte was born in Lessines, and studied at the Academie Royale des Beaux Arts in Brussels. Influenced by de Chirico, he joined the other surrealists in Paris in 1927, returning to Brussels in 1930. His most influential works are those that question the relationship between image and reality, as in The Treason of Images (1928–29; Los Angeles County Museum of Art), in which a picture of a smoker's pipe appears with the words ‘Ceci n'est pas une pipe’ (This is not a pipe). The meaning behind Magritte's surrealist paintings is derived from his careful placement and choice of subjects and objects in the composition. His work is also noted for its precise painting technique and skill.

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