René Magritte (1898 - 1967), the most outstanding Belgian surrealist painter, often depicted ordinary objects against unusual backgrounds to challenge the observer's preconceived notions of reality. René Magritte often gave a new meaning to familiar objects, or twisted unrelated things together to give people a sense of absurdity and humor.

René Magritte's creations influenced later Pop Art, Minimalism and Conceptual Art.