Travel another way

In 1929, the most celebrated surrealist Belgian painter wrote this caption on his oil painting representing a pipe, and called his piece: “the Betrayal of Images”.

His name? René Magritte.

On June 2, 2009 , Brussels will open a new Magritte Museum. Located by the Art museum on Place Royale, within walking distance from the famous Grand Place,  the museum will hold 200 works, the largest collection of Magritte paintings, plus archival material, letters written by the painter, photographs and drawings.

Born in 1898 in Lessines, Belgium, Magritte firts studied art at the Belgian  Academy of Fine arts. He later met  the French and Spanish surrealists in Paris in the 20s and  joined their cultural and political movement . His first American exhibit was organized in New York in 1936, but he  only set foot in the States  in 1965, for a retrospective of his works at the Chicago MOMA. Magritte died in 1967 in Brussels.

Inspired by both the bizarre and the absurd, Magritte evokes a wide spectrum of themes to entice the observer.

Visits of the museum are available on French Escapade tours to Belgium in 2009: August 22-29 (Cultural tour), August 14- 21 and September 5-12 (Painting tours).

Useful links for Magritte in Brussels

• http://www.visitbelgium.com/mediaroom/NewMagritteMuseumBrussels.htm Future Magritte museum to open in June.
• http://www.magrittemuseum.be/   Present Magritte museum in Brussels

Illustration 1: the new Magritte Museum in Brussels

Illustration 2: Oil on canvas from http://www.lacma.org/