Editing René Magritte (section)

==Early life==
René Magritte was born in [[Lessines]], in the province of [[Hainaut (province)|Hainaut]] in Belgium, in 1898. He was the oldest son of Léopold Magritte, a [[tailor]] and textile merchant,<ref name="Meuris216">Meuris 1991, p 216.</ref> and Régina ([[née]] Bertinchamps), who was a [[Hatmaking|milliner]] before she got married. Little is known about Magritte's early life. He began lessons in drawing in 1910.<ref name="Meuris216"/>

On 24 February 1912, his mother died by [[suicide]] by drowning herself in the [[River Sambre]] at [[Châtelet, Belgium|Châtelet]].<ref name="Abadie274"/> It was not her first suicide attempt. Her body was not discovered until 12 March.<ref name="Abadie274">Abadie 2003, p. 274.</ref> According to a legend, 13-year-old Magritte was present when her body was retrieved from the water, but recent research{{when|date=February 2024}} has discredited this story, which may have originated with the family nurse.<ref name="Cal9">Calvocoressi 1990, p. 9.</ref> Supposedly, when his mother was found, her dress was covering her face, an image that has been suggested as the source of several of Magritte's paintings in 1927–1928 of people with cloth obscuring their faces, including ''Les Amants''.<ref name="nga">{{cite web|url=http://nga.gov.au/International/Catalogue/Detail.cfm?IRN=148052 |title=National Gallery of Australia &#124; Les Amants [The lovers&#93; |publisher=Nga.gov.au |access-date=2010-10-14}}</ref>