Magritte, René François Ghislain (1898-1967), Belgian painter, a leading figure in the Surrealist Movement. He was born in Lessines and studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts, Brussels. His first one-man exhibition was in Brussels in 1927. At that time Magritte had already begun to paint in the style, closely akin to Surrealism, that was predominant throughout his long career. Skilful and meticulous in his technique, he is noted for works that contain an extraordinary juxtaposition of ordinary objects or an unusual context that gives new meaning to familiar things. This juxtaposition is frequently termed Magic Realism, of which Magritte was the prime artistic exponent. In addition to fantastic elements, he displayed a mordant wit, creating Surrealist versions of famous paintings, as in Madame Récamier de David (1949, private collection), in which the famous portrait by Jacques Louis David is parodied by the substitution of an elaborate coffin for the reclining woman.