The man with the apple - like René Magritte (2)

What do you need?

• white drawing sheet A4
• aquarelle pencils
• jar with water
• brush
• fine black marker

About the artist

Rene Magritte is born in 1898 in Belgium. When Magritte is 13 his mother commits suicide. She jumps in the river and is found with her dress covering her face. This image has been suggested as the source of several paintings from Magritte: people hiding their faces with objects.
In 1924 Magritte became friends with members of a surrealism group in Brussels: André Breton, Joan Miró and Salvador Dalí. These artists influence Magritte's work. 
Magritte gave his paintings a realistic effect of surrealism. He painted simple objects, like a shoe, apple or tree. He took these things out of their ordinary environment and placed them in a special surrounding.
One of Magritte's most famous works is a very realistic painting from a pipe, with the text: Ceci n'est pas une pipe (This is not a pipe). The painting is not a pipe, but rather an image of a pipe. As Magritte himself commented: "The famous pipe. How people reproached me for it! And yet, could you stuff my pipe? No, it's just a representation, is it not? So if I had written on my picture 'This is a pipe,' I'd have been lying!" By putting us constantly on the wrong track, Magritte forces us to think about art. 
Links: Magritte museum, Brussel 

See also the other lesson In the style of René Magritte (1) on this blog.

 

What should you do?

1. Draw a man or woman from about chest height. 
2. Like Magritte, we see no face. 
3. And, like Magritte, the person has something on his head. 
4. Don't draw a face, but an object of your own choice. 
5. Color the drawing with aquarelle pencils. 
6. Use water and a brush to create the effect of aquarel paint. 
7. Let dry and outline everything with a fine marker.

Artworks made by students of grade 6.