René Magritte Biography Magritte was born in Lessines, in the
province of Hainaut, in 1898, the eldest son of Léopold
Magritte, who was a tailor and textile merchant, and Régina, a
milliner until her marriage. Little is known about Magritte's
early life. He began lessons in drawing in 1910. On 12 March
1912, his mother committed suicide by drowning herself in the
River Sambre. This was not her first attempt; she had made many
over a number of years, driving her husband Léopold to lock her
into her bedroom. One day she escaped, and was missing for days.
She was later discovered a mile or so down the river, dead.
According to a legend, 13 year old Magritte was present when her
body was retrieved from the water, but recent research has
discredited this story, which may have originated with the
family nurse.Supposedly, when his mother was found her dress was
covering her face, an image that has been suggested as the
source of several paintings Magritte painted in 1927 - 1928 of
people with cloth obscuring their f