Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary, 1926-1938 - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0870708988 ISBN 13: 9780870708985

Publisher: Museum of Modern Art, 2013

Synopsis

Published in conjunction with a major exhibition organized by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, in collaboration with The Menil Collection, Houston, and The Art Institute of Chicago, "Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary, 1926-1938" focuses on the breakthrough Surrealist years of Rene Magritte, creator of some of the twentieth century's most extraordinary images. Bringing together nearly 80 paintings, collages and objects with a selection of photographs, periodicals and early commercial work, it offers fresh insight into Magritte's identity as a modern artist and one of Surrealism's greatest painters. Beginning in 1926, when Magritte first aimed to create paintings that would, in his words, "challenge the real world," and concluding in 1938--a historically and biographically significant moment just before the outbreak of World War II--the publication traces central strategies and themes from this seminal period, particularly those of displacement, isolation, transformation, metamorphosis, the "misnaming" of objects and the representation of visions seen in half-waking states. The publication also includes an illustrated chronology outlining significant moments in the artist's life during this period, including travel, connections with other Surrealist artists and writers, contributions to journals and important exhibitions and reviews.

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: Museum of Modern Art
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0870708988
• ISBN 13: 9780870708985
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256
• Editor: Anne Umland