Magritte - Softcover

Gary Garrels

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0810967006 ISBN 13: 9780810967007

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2000

Synopsis

The enigmatic images of the great Surrealist Ren Magritte (1898-1967) are so powerful that they seem to define a completely new reality, where everyday objects and familiar situations are transformed in unexpected ways. Magritte's visual ideas are astounding in their variety and originality, and creative people ranging from philosophers to advertising executives have ransacked his art for inspiration. His impact on fine art and artists has been even more dramatic. This collection of key works, which accompanies a major retrospective opening at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in May 2000, is particularly notable because the paintings have been selected to show Magritte's influence on the art of the latter half of the 20th century. An essay by art historian Siegfried Gohr explores some of the major themes in Magritte's work, while more than 60 colorplates tantalize the viewer.

85 illustrations, 65 in full color, 9 3/4 x 12"

SIEGFRIED GOHR is professor of art theory at the Hochschule fr Gestalthung in Karlsruhe, Germany, and former director of the Museum Ludwig in Cologne.

GARY GARRELS is Elise S. Haas chief curator and curator of painting and sculpture at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

EXHIBITION SCHEDULE San Francisco Museum of Modern ArtMay 5-Sept. 5, 2000

About this title

Review

This installation of the Modern Master series surveys the work of Rene Magritte, one of the most enigmatic artists of the 20th century and an important figure in the surrealist movement. He combined the commonplace with the fantastic to become the master of "magic realism." Cloud-filled skies, bowler-hatted men, and oversized household objects are in abundance in the more than 60 full-color reproductions included in this volume.

About the Author

Rene Magritte was born RenE FranAois-Ghislain Magritte in 1898 in Belgium. In March of 1912, Magritte's mother killed herself by jumping into the river Sambre. The next year, the young artist met his future wife, Georgette Berger; the year after that he enrolled as a pupil at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. In the early 1920s, Magritte served in the military, married Georgette, and worked as a graphic artist, primarily drawing motifs for wallpaper. De Chirico provided a strong early influence. Magritte's first painting, a portrait of singer Evelyne BrElia, was sold in 1923, and his first surrealist work, Le Jockey Perdu, was painted in 1926. His first exhibition was held in 1927; soon thereafter, he and Georgette moved near Paris and began to meet other surrealists like MirU, Eluard and Arp. His relationships with the surrealists only deepened over the following years: Magritte published his work in various surrealist journals, vacationed with the DalIs, and exhibited with Edward James. At different points during his mature career, he dramatically changed his painting style, only to return to his original surrealist ways. Magritte died in 1967.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0810967006
• ISBN 13: 9780810967007
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 112