Magritte - Softcover

Molstrom, Katrine; Laursen, Steingrim; Magritte, Rene

Softcover

ISBN 10: 8790029402 ISBN 13: 9788790029401

Publisher: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2001

Synopsis

Providing myriad visual examples of the ''Magritte effect,'' this new volume presents work by an artist who even among his fellow Surrealist painters seems--even after so many years--shocking, original, and preternaturally strange. Magritte's work manages to remain challenging because it marks a paradigm shift occurring within high modernism that the world is still dealing with today--an ever-recurring moment where everyday life seems unnatural, where the bedrock epistemological and ontological assumptions on which our concept of reality is based seem about to unravel. Testifying to the continuing resonance of Magritte's oeuvre in our contemporary world, this new volume presents Magritte as a forerunner and source of inspiration for Pop Art and Conceptual Art. Presenting a treasure trove of some of Magritte's most sumptuous and uniquely captivating works in full color, Magritte also features astute and thought-provoking texts on Magritte's art and its influence.

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: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 8790029402
• ISBN 13: 9788790029401
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 80
• Editor: Kaiser Lise