Known for his dramatic and thought provoking drawings and paintings, Belgian artist  René Magritte also created several equine paintings in his lifetime. Born in Belgium in 1898, Rene knew from a young age he would be an artist, and that career lead him to gain fame and fortune throughout the world for his surrealism paintings. Today, the largest collection of his work can be seen in the museum dedicated to him, The Musée Magritte Museum in Brussels, Belgium, with a collection of over holding over 200 paintings, drawings, sketches, and photographs.

The mind loves the unknown. It loves images whose meaning is unknown, since the meaning of the mind itself is unknown – René Magritte

Often depicting ordinary objects in an unusual context, his work is known for challenging observers’ preconditioned perceptions of reality. His imagery has influenced Pop art, minimalist and conceptual art. The philosophy of his work is best summarized as “creating the unknown with known things”.

Rene Magritte started art school at the young age of 12. Two years later, his mother committed suicide by drowning herself in the River Sambre. Is was not her first attempt, and she was missing for several days. Legend has it that Rene was present when her body was retrieved from the water, and when found her face was covered with her dress-and this is thought to have the inspiration for several paintings,  including Les Amants.

If the dream is a translation of waking life, waking life is also a translation of the dream.- Rene Magritte

Rene Magritte met Georgette Berger when they where in their early teens, then met met again in 1920, when Georgette was also studying art. She became his model, muse, and wife.

Magritte died of pancreatic cancer on 15 August 1967, aged 68, and was interred in Schaerbeek Cemetery, in Brussels, although his legacy will live on around the world forever, continuing to leave his mark even on today’s artists. This was his last painting, left unfinished:

On February 28th, 2018, Sotheby’s held an Surrealist Evening Art Sale in London, where The Lost Jockey sold for 1,929,000 GBP.

New Exhibit

The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in collaboration with over 40 other art museums around the world is hosting an exhibition of artwork created by Rene Margitte and Salvador Dali. The exhibition will include more than 80 paintings, sculptures, photographs, drawings, films and archival pieces.

Want to see more?

Rene Margitte 

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