René Magritte Art for Sale: Prints & Originals

René
Magritte

René Magritte, a master of Surrealism, is known for his witty and thought-provoking works which challenge observers' preconditioned perceptions of reality. If you’re looking for original René Magritte prints and editions for sale or would like to sell, request a complimentary valuation and browse our network’s most in-demand works.

Biography

Born in 1898 in Lessines, Belgium, René François Ghislain Magritte was the eldest of three boys. His early life was shadowed by tragedy with the speculated suicide of his mother, who drowned under mysterious circumstances when Magritte was very young. This traumatic event is often considered to have influenced his future artworks, many of which feature veiled faces or obscured objects. Magritte studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels from 1916 to 1918, where he was introduced to Impressionism and Futurism, but it was the works of Giorgio de Chirico that truly captured his imagination and steered him towards Surrealism.

Following his studies, Magritte initially worked in commercial advertising to support himself while he honed his artistic style. His early work was influenced by the likes of Pablo Picasso and Fernand Léger, but it was in 1926, when he developed his signature style, that Magritte's career began to flourish. This was the year he painted The Lost Jockey (Le Jockey Perdu), which he considered his first Surrealist work.

Throughout the 1930s, Magritte's reputation grew, and he became a leading figure in the Surrealist movement, often challenging and redefining its boundaries. His works from this period, such as The Human Condition, toy with reality and illusion, drawing attention to the divide between the object and its representation.

Magritte's collaborations and friendships with fellow Surrealists like Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, and André Breton were pivotal, and his work was showcased in major Surrealist exhibitions. However, Magritte's relationship with the movement was complex, and he occasionally broke away from its influence to explore other avenues, including a period known as his Renoir Period during the war, which saw him experiment with a more colourful and impressionistic style.

René Magritte passed away in 1967, but his influence on the visual arts and his exploration of the boundary between the visible and the hidden, the conscious and the unconscious, endures.

Magritte's work is renowned for challenging observers' perceptions of reality. His 1929 painting The Treachery Of Images, with its inscription “Ceci n'est pas une pipe” (This is not a pipe), provocatively asserts that an image of a thing is not the thing itself. Magritte's art often combined everyday objects in unusual contexts, giving new meanings to familiar things. This juxtaposition was aimed at making the viewer question their reality and become aware of the limitations of perception.
Magritte's personal style and the repeated motifs in his work were influenced by a tragic event in his life. The loss of his mother, who was found with her face covered by her dress after her death, deeply impacted him. This imagery recurred in works like his 1950 piece The Lovers II, where two figures kiss, their heads each covered by cloths. Magritte's style for depicting men in bowler hats is said to be inspired by his father, who wore a similar attire. These personal symbols contribute to the allure of his compositions, reflecting his ongoing engagement with themes of loss and identity.
The Son Of Man is one of Magritte's most iconic works, famously featuring a man in a bowler hat with a green apple floating in front of his face. This self-portrait, albeit with an obscured face, speaks to themes of visibility and existence. The apple, both a biblical reference and a nod to the forbidden fruit of knowledge, serves to hide the face beneath, symbolising the hidden aspects of the psyche. Magritte's ability to infuse surrealism with philosophical depth is exemplified in this work, exploring the layers between reality and illusion.