Catalogue raisonné Magritte: Oil paintings and objects, 1931-1948

by David Sylvester

The Belgian painter René Magritte (1898-1967) was an outstanding figure in the Surrealist movement and is one of this century's major artists. Since the 1960s his work has had a massive influence, not only on art, but on the imagery of popular culture. Following the publication to critical acclaim of the first volume of René Magritte : Catalogue Raisonné, Volume 11, written by David Sylvester and Sarah Whitfield, presents a systematic survey of Magritte's paintings and objects between 1931 and 1948. As in Volume 1, an illustrated detailed chronology of the artist's career precedes over 370 illustrated entries which discuss the dating, genesis and history of each work. Substantial extracts are included from Magritte's largely unpublished correspondence, which reveal, in particular, how fearful the artist was of having his work condemned as `degenerate' by the Nazis during the period of occupation between 1940 and 1945. In addition, there follows an appendix consisting of forty four untraced works of which there is no photographic record. The subsequent three volumes, to be published later this year and in 1994, cover Magritte's oil paintings, objects and sculptures of 1949-1967 (Volume 111), works in water-based media (gouaches, temperas, watercolours and papiers collés) of 1920-1967 (Volume IV) and, finally, an annotated bibliography, supplement and indices (Volume V). Volumes III and IV are by Sarah Whitfield and Michael Raeburn. All five volumes are edited by David Sylvester.

Paperback

Published November 16, 1993

About the author

Anthony David Bernard Sylvester CBE, (21 September 1924; London – 19 June 2001; London) was a British art critic and curator. During a long career David Sylvester was influential in promoting modern art in Britain, in particular the work of Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon.

Born into a well connected north-London Jewish family, Sylvester had trouble as a student at University College School and was thrown out of the family home. He wrote for the paper Tribune and went to Paris in 1947 where he met Alberto Giacometti one of the strongest influences on him. Though writing for a range of publications as a critic including The Observer and New Statesman the main thrust of his writing that direct response to the artwork was most important remained constant. Sylvester is credited with coining the term kitchen sink originally to describe a strand of post-war British painting typified by John Bratby. Sylvester used the phrase negatively but it was widely applied to other art forms including literature and theatre. During the 1950s Sylvester worked with Henry Moore, Freud and Bacon but also supported Richard Hamilton and the other 'Young Turks' of British pop art. This led him to become a prominent media figure in the 1960s. During the 1960s and 70s Sylvester occupied a number of roles at the Arts Council of Great Britain serving on advisory panels and on the main panel. In 1969 he curated a Renoir exhibition at the Hayward Gallery for which he was assisted by a young Nicholas Serota.