Masques – Le dessert des Antilles – Le marchand d'art
René Magritte, the famous Surrealist, has always refused to call himself a photographer. He was nevertheless an avid user of photography, wether is was for family pictures, or as a preparation for his paintings or advertising work. He also had lots of fun by filming improvised sketches or parodies of well-known movie scenes with a home camera. The film shown here contains three different recordings: Masques (recorden in Schaerbeek, Brussels, in 1956–1957), Le dessert des Antilles (recorded in Schaerbeek in April 1957) and Le marchand d'art, also recorden in April 1957. You'll see René and Georgette Magritte acting, but also their close friends Irène Hamoir and Louis Scutenaire. It was big fun at the Magritte home, that much is clear!

Which role did film and photography play in Magritte's oeuvre?
Xavier Canonne, Director of the Musée de la Photographie in Charleroi, and an expert in Belgian Surrealism, is the author of the book René Magritte. The Revealing Image. In that publication Canonne sheds light on how the famous Surrealist related to film and photography. Which role did film and photography play in Magritte's oeuvre? Watch the video below to hear Xavier Canonne's answer to that question.