René Magritte’s paintings challenge perception and reality, presenting ordinary objects in unexpected contexts to provoke thought and mystery. A leading Surrealist, he combined precise, illustrative techniques with enigmatic compositions, as seen in The Son of Man, where a floating apple obscures a man’s face, and The Treachery of Images, which questions representation through the phrase 'Ceci n’est pas une pipe'. Magritte’s paintings often play with scale, transformation and concealment, blurring the line between the familiar and the uncanny. His ability to render dreamlike visions with meticulous realism has ensured his work remains among the most recognisable of the 20th century.