René Magritte was born at Lessine in the Belgian province of Hainaut, on November 21, 1898. He attended the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Brussels from 1916. Magritte at first painted in the Cubist and Futurist manner but felt more strongly drawn to a literary circle inspired by Dada. With Magritte as its pivotal figure, this group formed the nucleus of the Surrealism that developed in Belgium between 1925 and 1930. Magritte earned his livelihood as a graphic artist for a wallpaper factory and by designing advertisements for fashion shops. Becoming acquainted with 'Pittura Metafisica', Magritte rejected his early work and set out in a new direction. Since his initial Surrealist work met with a lack of understanding from the Brussels art scene, Magritte moved to Paris in 1927. There he played an active role in Surrealist circles that included André Breton and Paul Eluard until 1930. Magritte had his first one-man show at the 'Le Centaure' gallery in 1927. Through Breton, Magritte became acquainted with the work of Max Ernst, Francis Picabia and Marcel Duchamp. During those years his distinctively quirky, original yet enigmatic style began to mature. Realistically executed human figures and objects were torn from their usual contexts and reintroduced to visually startling new constellations revealing new content. Tired of the polemical atmosphere in Paris art circles, Magritte returned to Brussels in 1930. During the years that followed he was represented at all important Surrealist exhibitions. Magritte wrote several articles and short essays in which he set out his conception of the possibilities of art. During the Second World War Magritte embarked on a series in the manner of Renoir but soon returned to the technique of applying color in glazes reminiscent of the Old Masters which he also used for fresco painting. In 1953 Magritte completed eight murals for the dining-room of the city casino at Knokke-Le-Zoute, in 1957 a mural for the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Charleroi, followed in 1961 by a commission for the Brussels Congress Building. International acclaim came late for Magritte, with numerous retrospectives in 1965, including one at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. René Magritte died in Brussels on August 15, 1967.