Illustrated throughout with original, evocative imagery as well as reproductions of art, these introductory biographies explore the works and lives of important artists and architects in detail, and trace the influence of their legacies on our world.

Throughout his career, whether as an accepted member of the Surrealist group or as a maverick pursuing his own impulses, Belgian artist René Magritte explored the nature of reality and artifice, illuminating overlooked truths while fabricating an enigmatic image of himself. "Art evokes the mystery without which the world would not exist," he wrote, ever aware that art could create reality as well as reflect it, and the illustrations in this biography are inspired by Magritte's playful imagery.