Rene Magritte 1898-1967: Thought Rendered Visible

by Marcel Paquet

From men in bowler hats, floating in the sky, to a painting of a pipe above the caption "this is not a pipe", Rene Magritte (1898-1967) created an echo chamber of object and image, name and thing, reality and representation.Like other Surrealist works, Magritte's paintings combine a precise, mimetic technique with abnormal, alienating configurations which defy the laws of scale, logic, and science: a comb the size of a wardrobe, rocks that float in the sky, clouds that drift through an open door. The result is a direct yet disorientating realm, often witty, often unsettling, and always prompting us to look beyond the visible, to "what is hidden by what we see."This introductory book explores Magritte's vast repertoire of visual humor, paradox, and surprise which to this day makes us look and look again, not only at the painting, but at our sense of self and the world.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Biography

96 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1994

Reviews

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book at the very good surrealist exhibition that I went to at GOMA.

I have always been fond of the surrealist painting movement and I am totally in love with the works of Magritte. I remember the first painting of his I saw was as a sulky teenager, it was a rock suspended over an ocean and it was only with difficulty I was dragged through the rest of the exhibition.

This book along with the exhibition gave me a lot more information about Rene Magritte, his works and the general surrealists than I had previously. But in the end, everything I love most about his work is found by gazing at his work; Dreams and thoughts beautifully rendered in colour on canvas. Ahh.

Quotes
“I can imagine a sunny landscape under a night sky; only a god is capable of visualising it and conveying it through the medium of paint, however. In the expectation that I will become one, I am dropping the project...” –Rene Magritte Re ‘God’s Salon’ 1948

[Melzanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

magritte is amazing. word.

[hyerim lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shows how different can be the object and its abstraction which created by a subjective view. At the same time why only the abstraction can show object's fundament or its highest achievement.

[Rhonda Hankins]

A quick intro to Magritte. Some very nice reproductions of his work in the book that speak volumes.

[Quiver · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to the inimitable René Magritte: the reproductions are large and of high enough quality to transmit their purpose and effect; the writing offers a succinct guide to the painter's life and aspirations.