René Magritte is one of the most famous artists of the 20th century, didn’t particularly want to be an artist. In fact he disliked the word “artist” and preferred to be called “a man who paints pictures.”  He was born in 1898 near Brussels, Belgium, and the oldest of three brothers.  His father was a tailor and his mother a hat-maker.  His mother died when he was 14, and this sad event affected the content of some of the pictures he painted in later years. 

At age 18 Magritte began studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. In his early adulthood he made his living by illustrating advertising, even painting for a wallpaper company.  He was happily married to a woman named Georgette, but they had no children.  He was never particular about where he painted, and unlike most artists who worked in a studio, he was quite happy to set up his easel in the kitchen or dining room. 

Magritte eventually became very famous and his paintings influenced many other artists of his time.  He died in 1967, but his paintings live on in museums in Europe and the United States.