Rene Magritte’s Surrealism
Rene Magritte The False Mirror The Return
Rene Magritte was a member of a group of artists and poets called the surrealists. The surrealists celebrated the power of the imagination. They wanted to make their art from the ‘unconscious’ – the thoughts or feelings they believed were buried deep in the brain. These were often dreams!
Rather like the ads we see on TV, Magritte’s bold paintings grabbed people's attention and stopped them in their tracks. In his work, everyday things such as apples, wine glasses or a man in a bowler hat are placed in strange settings. They are painted in a very realistic way, which makes the scenes seem even more peculiar.
The sorts of things Magritte painted included:
Familiar objects – such as pipes, apples, eggs, birds, clocks or candles
Men in suits and bowler hats
Blue skies with clouds and views of the sea
Windows and doors, picture frames and mirrors
Pictures of artists, easels or paints
https://www.tate.org.uk/kids/explore/who-is/who-rene-magritte
Click on this link to view Art with Mati and Dad, Rene Magritte. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD53mLZ_y8k
Falling Mannequins The Human Condition
Use the attached instructions to create your own “False Mirror” inspired artwork. Fold your paper into quarters to find the center. You can use any round object to trace the round shape in the center, be creative. Use your own idea to fill in the iris of the eye, what is your eye viewing? Below are some student samples, what will yours look like?
