In 1992, André Garitte, an art enthusiast, discovered the house in Jette where René and Georgette had lived.
‘It suddenly became clear that this was the most crucial, the most historic building: Magritte had lived there from 1930 to 1954, longer than in all the other houses [of his adult life] combined. In this house he had painted about half of his body of work. A large number of his masterpieces were created here. He had set up a studio and a small advertising firm (Studio Dongo). And, finally, this house had become the headquarters of the Belgian Surrealists; the painter’s friends gathered there every week and organized all sorts of subversive activities.’
In 1993, André Garitte had the idea of turning this house into a museum. It took more than six years of work to restore the apartment to its original state and to adapt the floors so they could house a biographical exhibition tracing Magritte’s life.
The René Magritte Museum opened its doors on the 5th of June 1999, and, for over 25 years, has been welcoming visitors eager to discover the place where Magritte was able to think, draw, and paint works that are now considered world-renowned classics, such as The Empire of Light, Golconda, and Clairvoyance.
The collection
The collection offers an intimate portrait of Magritte through a series of archival materials and objects, as well as some twenty original works (gouaches, drawings, and two oil paintings) and about ten advertising pieces. The variety of materials allows visitors to explore many aspects of the painter’s life, from his hobbies to his work and his relationships, as well as the different periods of his career, such as the “Vache” period with the gouache Lola de Valence, and drawings from the Renoir period.
In the galleries, you will also find works by other Surrealist artists such as ELT Mesens, Marcel Mariën, Paul Delvaux, Jane Graverol, Félix Labisse, and Rachel Baes.
Finally, the tour concludes with René Magritte’s apartment, restored with its original furniture.
The entire building has been preserved, with an emphasis on the intimate atmosphere of the space, as well as on the conservation of the sometimes fragile documents, which cannot withstand overly bright light. The exhibition design highlights the architecture of the house, built in 1925, which has remained intact.
Overview of the Collection
