René Magritte Essay -- Arts Paintings Art History

Ren MagritteBelgian Surrealist artist Ren Magritte was a master not only of theobvious, exactly of the obscure as well. In his artwork, Magritte toyedwith everyday objects, human habits and emotions, placing them inforeign contexts and questioning their familiar meanings. He suggestednew interpretations of old things in his deceivingly simple(a) paintings,making the commonplace pro plunge and the rational irrational. Hepainted his canvasses in the same manner as he lived his life -- instrange taciturnity and under constant analysis. Magritte was born in 1898in the small town of Lessines, a cosmopolitan area of Belgium that wasgreatly influenced by the French. Twelve years later, Magritte, onwith his parents and two younger brothers, moved to Chtelet, wherethe future artist studied sketching.On vacations with his grandmother and Aunt Flora during the summermonths, Magritte frequented an old cemetery at Soignies. In thiscemetery, Magritte often played with a little girl, opening t rap doorsand descending into underground vaults. This experience would prove agreat influence upon his later artwork, as wooden caskets and granitetombstones recur in many of his paintings. Magritte also developed afascination with religion around this time, often dressing up as apriest and holding mock mass services in complete seriousness. In1912, Rgina Bertinchamp, Magrittes mother, committed suicide bydrowning herself in the Sambre River. The night of her suicide, theMagrittes followed Bertinchamps footprints to the river, where theyfound her dead with her nightgown wrapped around her face. Magrittewas 14 at the time. He would claim years later that his onlyrecollection of his mothers death was his pride at being the centerof attention and his subsequent identity formation as the son of adead woman. Some critics point out that several of the subjects inMagrittes paintings are veiled in white sheets as a reference to hismothers suicide.A year later, Magrittes father moved the fam ily to Charleroi. It wasin Charleroi that Magritte would meet his future wife Georgette Bergeron a carousel at the town fair. However, the two would not see oneanother again until a chance meeting in Brussels years later. InCharleroi, Magritte quickly lost interest in his studies and asked hisfather for permission to study at the Acadmie des Beaux-Arts inBrussels. ... ... Faubourgin Paris. The order of battle caused much scandal, but won few admirers.Soon after, Magritte resigned to his original style, though hebitterly attributed this retroaction to his desire to pleaseGeorgette, who preferred his earlier paintings.He keep to acquire much success all over the world withpaintings such as LEmpire des Lumires (The Empire of Lights, 1954),which employed standard Surrealist techniques and precise Magrittelines. On August 15, 1967, Magritte died in Brussels. Unlike many ofhis Surrealist counterparts, Magritte lived quite humbly and inconuously. He did not draw much attention to himse lf, and he lived liferelatively uneventfully. condescension his unassuming lifestyle, though,Magritte managed to leave an artistic legacy of transforming theordinary into the fantastic. While some art historians attributeMagrittes art to his desire to oppose and combat the triviality ofeveryday life, others suggest that his work goes beyond escapism andserves to reveal some of the murkier and complex aspects of the humancondition.Whatever the impetus was for his art, it is certain that Magrittesworks are at erst hauntingly beautiful and deeply provocative.