In honor of this occasion, here are a few of his greatest pieces:
First of all, here's "Son of Man:"
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQqK1oBrIn6DV8Buchy42ykg1SdBGx83O4cQb6_Q_TJJmI7fiVVgpAknUY7stkkvd2FlU-IOgHLDnKT9NcYqDXDUX8S_tTQ85e8dNH5WqSTvA15vUyzs35B6qW33Ascwoa4qz8/s400/son+of+man.bmp)
Next, here's what is probably his most famous painting, called "The Treachery of Images:"
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpaDhTsx3hmbkj0MuzPrjvkO0MU2eUKTOdAVnY3KiZFzw1z_HcDd1jBgcZHTfa_B1wfrXgQubSYi1UZFtC9H_wQ50U9bGUeLqH8zrDub3z7jqZwASeb7On9P0M5vRBeEfU_qpk/s400/TreasonOfImagesShadow.jpg)
The caption, "This is not a pipe," is actually quite true. Magritte's point, of course, is that this is merely a picture of a pipe, an image. You can't smoke it. He followed this up with several other "this is not a" paintings in the same vein.
Next, here's "Golconde:"
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJeXk4A3F2ZAsvz_dsKcROfGQ5BDPXDEpeCZOMIkfdsYqecoi6FZqrcQjZeo_g0bo7JCC-1DO1dbggoR7IVcnlvMdZdnZxCg6mmRl4GkpFhaJN2mvO5NjUU8-D0-2sVBcjaNZ/s400/magritte-rene-golconde-31006092245.jpg)
From Wikipedia:
The piece depicts a scene of identical men dressed in dark overcoats and bowler hats, who seem to be floating like helium balloons (though there is no actual indication of motion), against a backdrop of buildings and blue sky. It is humorous, but with an obvious criticism of the conventional effacing of individuality.
Magritte himself lived in a similar suburban environment, and dressed in a similar fashion. The bowler hat was a common feature of much of his work, and appears in paintings like The Son of Man.
Here's Magritte's "Self Portrait:"
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzaE0qTEuUnqKfdCHPByarBMZcZqm3NBxkRfs9wZbvXDg6gpgZnfigqGXYZnU97tnFVmiJoyYJH75YWh_Uaw7lFEBhQNdlEZtd6-ieaHytpdV7OU2xP2XDOuqirO7i9NGKSyGB/s400/magritte01.gif)
For more Magritte, here's a Google Image search.