The Exhibition of Rene Magritte Foundation's Litography prints in limited editions

1898 

November 21. René François-Ghislain Magritte is born in Lessines, Belgium.

1912
March 12. The body of Magritte’s mother is found in the river Sambre. The family resettles in Charleroi.

1913
Meets his future wife for the first time, Georgette Berger. But will soon lose touch.

1916
Enrolls at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels.

1918
The Magritte family resettles in Brussels.

1921
Magritte goes to Military Service.

1922
June 28. Magritte marries Georgette.
Starts working as a graphic artist and designer.

1923
Sells his first painting, a portrait of the singer Evelyne Brélia.

1924
Discovers the works of Giorgio de Chirico.

1926
Paints his first surrealist work, Le Jockey Perdu.
Paints his masterpiece L’Assasin Menacé, later acquired by MoMA.

1927
April – May. Exposition Magritte - First exhibition in Brussels at the Gallery Le Centaure, where he showcases 61 works.
September. Georgette and Magritte resettle in Paris and meet Joan Miro, Paul Eluard, Andre Breton and other surrealists and Dadaist artists and poets.
October. Gallery L’Epoque opens in Brussels with an exhibition of works by Surrealists and Expressionists, including one painting by Magritte.

1928
January. Second solo exhibition at Galerie L’Epoque in Brussels with 23 works painted in 1927.
August. Magritte’s father dies.

1929
Magritte meets Dali in Cadaquès, Spain.
Paints first version of his iconic work La Trahison des Images (This is not a pipe), currently held at the LACMA.
First public participation of Magritte to the French Surrealist movement.
October. Galerie Goemans opens in Paris with a group exhibition with works by Magritte, Hans Arp and Salvador Dali.

1930
Magritte and Georgette move back to Brussels.
Magritte opens Studio Dongo, a commercial art business, with his brother Paul. He is commissioned to create posters, advertising copy and stands for commercial displays.

1931
December. Exhibition opens at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Belgium.

1932
May- June. Exposition René Magritte is presented at Brussels’s Palais des Beaux-Arts featuring 57 paintings dated 1926-1932.

1936
January. First solo exhibition of Magritte in New York at Julien Levy Gallery.
April-May. Third exhibition at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels.
June-July. Exhibition at the International Surrealist Exhibition in London.
December. Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism opens at the Museum of Modern Art, New York with 9 paintings by Magritte.

1937
December. Fourth exhibition at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels.

1938
January. Second solo exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York.
January-February. Exposition Internationale du Surrealism in Paris.
April. Exhibition at the London Gallery.

1939
May. Exhibition at the Palais des Beaux-Arts.

1940
Amidst the Second World War and the invasion of Belgium, Magritte and Georgette move to south of France in Carcassone.
October. 19 works are destroyed by bombs in London.

1941
January. Solo exhibition at the Galerie Dietrich in Brussels.

1943
Magritte tries out a new style of painting. This is his "Renoir" or "Solar" style, which he continues until 1947 together with his customary style.
First monograph published on Magritte.

1947
First monograph on the artist by Louis Scutenaire. Beginning of the "cow period".

1948
Exhibition in the Galerie du Faubourg, in Paris. Magritte shows his new style, the public is startled. Magritte has to give up this new way of painting.

1952
August. First Retrospective exhibition at the Casino of Knokke-le-Zoute in Belgium. October. Magritte becomes the director of a new publication: "La carte d'après nature".

1953
February. First exhibition in Italy.
Murals for the casino at Knokke-le-Zoute.

1954
Paints the first version of his iconic L’Empire des Lumières, currently held at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice.

1957
Solo exhibition in New York at Iolas Gallery.

1959
Retrospective exhibition at the Musée d’Ixelles in Brussels.

1960
Visit to André Breton in Paris. Meeting with Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst and Man Ray.

1965
Stay in Ischia in Italy. Magritte's health declines. Visit to Rome. Departs for New York and the Museum of Modern Art where there is a retrospective of his work.

1967
Exhibition in the Galerie Iolas in Paris. Holiday in Italy. Retrospective in Rotterdam. Magritte retouches the wax models of his first sculptures.

15 August 1967
René Magritte dies in Brussels from pancreatic cancer.