René Magritte

René Magritte, the Belgian surrealist with a penchant for placing everyday objects in the most unusual of situations, was a master of the visual punchline. He gave us bowler hats raining from the sky, trains bursting from fireplaces, and a pipe that famously insisted it was not a pipe. Before becoming a celebrated artist, he designed wallpaper and created advertisements, skills that likely honed his knack for crafting a memorable image. Rumor has it that during World War II, to make ends meet, Magritte put his talents to use by forging works by Picasso and other masters. Another tale whispers that the recurring motif of veiled faces in his paintings stems from a traumatic childhood event: witnessing his mother's body being pulled from a river, her face obscured by her nightgown. While historians debate the veracity of this story, it adds a layer of haunting mystery to the man who also, with a touch of absurdist humor, supposedly named every single one of his dogs Loulou.