The Eye

1930

Back to Brussels: advertising instead of a gallery

Galerie Le Centaure closed at the end of 1929, ending his contract income, and he had made little impact in Paris, so in 1930 Magritte returned to Brussels and to advertising. With his brother Paul he formed an agency that earned him a living wage.

1930–1932

No exhibitions, no sales: a stipend from Claude Spaak

Between 1930 and 1932 Magritte had no exhibitions and sold no work; he was supported by a monthly stipend arranged by the Belgian playwright Claude Spaak.

1930s

The patronage of Edward James

The British Surrealist patron Edward James let Magritte stay rent-free in his London home, where he studied architecture and painted; James is depicted in two paintings of 1937, “The Pleasure Principle” and “Not to Be Reproduced”.

1930–1954 · Residenza

René Magritte House

1932

Joins the Communist Party of Belgium

Holding left-wing views, he apparently joined the party twice before the war — in 1932 and 1936 — and left both times over disputes about the role of art in propaganda: party members criticised “The Red Model” for misrepresenting communists and rejected his poster designs for the textile workers’ centre.

1934

Alice Lorge buys “Black Magic”

Suzanne Spaak’s sister Alice Lorge bought “La Magie noire” — the first of a series of eleven paintings showing Georgette Berger in a classical nude pose; Claude Spaak commissioned portraits of his wife and children from Magritte.