René Guitte was the son of the luminist painter Jules Guiette and brother of philologist and poet Robert Guiette. He was a war volunteer and active in the Belgian resistance and then studied oriental philology. From 1919 onwards he began to paint. His style shifted from expressionism to cubism and post-cubism. The authenticity of his artistic and intellectual quest made him one of the most interesting figures in the Belgian art landscape of the 20th century. He did not enjoy the reputation of his colleague and friend René Magritte, but they regularly exhibited together and Guiette enjoyed a reputation as one of the best abstract artists in Belgium. Guiette’s work sometimes leans on the art brut, sometimes with a more meditative style.
