Brussels: 2-hour guided tour of Magritte

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Follow in the footsteps of the great painter René Magritte on a 3-hour walking tour of Brussels. Explore the city's monuments and learn about the life and work of the surrealist artist. Meet your guide in front of the Magritte Museum and explore the city. Visit his hometown, Jette, and the "Mosaic Trail," the Magritte Fountain, and "The Golden Paper Flower." Learn about the life of the artist, born in 1898 in Lessines, near Charleroi. His parents both worked in the textile industry. He began taking drawing lessons at the age of 12. He studied at the Brussels Academy of Fine Arts and settled in the capital for the rest of his life. To earn a living, he initially worked in graphic design and advertising. Over the years, Magritte became involved in the Surrealist movement and befriended like-minded artists. However, unlike many Surrealists, Magritte was not interested in psychoanalysis and the psychology of art, but instead focused on ideas, images, symbols, and puzzles. We'll discuss the Surrealist movement in more detail later in the tour. Magritte's painting often adopts a neutral aesthetic, characterized by simple colors, images, and shapes. And there may be a very good reason for this. Surprisingly, he didn't enjoy painting. In fact, what Magritte loved were the ideas that sprang from his mind. The act of painting bored him, but it was the only way he could express his ideas.