November Artist of the Month: René François-Ghislain Magritte

René François-Ghislain Magritte

Birth; Death: 1898-1967
Born in: Lessines, Belgium

Art movement: Surrealism!

Surrealism is a movement that started around 1924. It sort of formed out of dada, most of the artist that were a part of the dada movement joined the surrealists around then. The Dadaists used more of an improvisational technique, but as surrealist their focus changed to inner world of the psyche, the realm of fantasy and unconscious.

There are two types of surrealism.

1. Biomorphic (Joan Miró) largely abstract whatever I don’t like too much so I’m not going to talk about it.
2. Naturalistic (Dali, Magritte, Chirico) Imagery is recognizable but changed into senses that had dream/nightmare-ish quality.

Magritte developed his own unique style of surrealism. He did not simply take an object and distort it like Dali who would take a clock and make it look like it was melting. Instead Magritte depicted realistic images but it was the manner in which he arranged them that made the surreal. Magritte’s work challenged logic and contradicted accepted truths. His work made you want to know “why?!” and “how?” But you can stair until you are cross eyed and read into it as much as you like in the end you just have to except that you are not meant to understand. The only point is to go against logic and depict that which is only real in your dreams.