Born in Belgium at the end of the 19th century, Rene Magritte gained fame for his peculiar and oddly titled Surrealist works. Early in Magritte’s childhood his mother committed suicide, this proved a formative event in his artistic development. When his mother’s body was pulled from the river in which she drowned herself, as legend has it her face was completely covered by her night dress. Imagery from this incident, particularly the reoccurring Magritte theme of obscured and veiled faces, is a staple in many of Magritte’s images. Magritte works such as The Lovers and The Son of Man play directly of the theme of obscured faces that would normally be seen albeit for some obvious veil. While the idea of one thing covering another in a peculiar way is seen in many Magritte works such as Do not Recreate and The Human Condition. Magritte is quoted saying “Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see. There is an interest in that which is hidden and what the visible doesn’t show us.”
Magritte’s wife Georgette is another key to understanding Magritte. After meeting Georgette, nearly every female portrayed in Magritte’s works is Georgette. He shows her and her beauty in works like La Magie Norie and The Eternally Obvious. But some critics have called Magritte’s portrayal of women sexist. Their argument is logically rooted; The Rape and Representation certainly don’t seem to be a romantic way to portray one’s true love. Magritte and Georgette both had simultaneous affairs in the late nineteen thirties while Magritte was in England selling some of his new works. Magritte sent detailed instructions to the poet entertaining his wife about how to properly please and keep Georgette happy. The two reconciled when they were kept apart by WWII and Magritte soon realized that he couldn’t live without his beloved Georgette. On the eve of his return to Belgium he wrote a friend saying “If I were to die on the way tell Georgette when you see her that my lasts thoughts were of her.”
As opposed to being an artist in the company of artists, Magritte’s group of friends consisted mostly of poets and writers. Magritte didn’t take a fancy to the leaders of the art world and had a falling out with the leaders of the surrealist movement in the late nineteen twenties. When it came time for Magritte to name a work he rarely invented the title himself. He would consult his literary friends via letters or some other means and choose one out of the multiple of suggestions he received from them. The titles of Magritte’s works and content seem to be a juxtaposition of unrelated ideas; this is largely due to the help of his artistic companions. The “Literary Art” that Magritte made can be largely explained by the company of word weaving friends that he held.
Understanding Rene Magritte is no easy task, but understanding his past and surroundings are key to understanding his character. His artwork is often humorous and intriguing at the same time. His veiled faces and memories set in stone offer only a glimpse into his complicated mind.
1. Is Magritte’s portrayal of Georgette and other woman an act of sexism, love, or something in-between? (see Le Viol, The Eternally Obvious, Bather Between Light and Darkness, Attempting the Impossible, Galatea’s Robe, Representation)
2. Choose a Magritte painting (or two if you haven't hit 500 words) with a title completely unrelated to the work. Speculate as to how that title applies to or could apply to the work and what kind of hidden meanings could be taken from the juxtaposition of the title and image even if it wasn’t the original artist intention.
3. Write an engaging narrative about what happened to the man with the newspaper in The Man with the Newspaper. Or explain what will happen next to the murderer portrayed in The Murderer Threatened.
