Book Description

One of the most charming and beloved of the surrealists, René Magritte took a light, witty paintbrush and created a world both familiar and not--but always recognizable in our dreams. His plays on semiotics, identity, the idea of woman, the possibilities inherent in objects, and the idea that everything was not necessarily what it seemed--or what it was supposed to be--are celebrated here in an exceptionally charming limited edition. The Blue Box is done up like a handsome book, complete with a leather-bound spine and a bas-relief frontispiece that plays the painting-of-a window-within-a-window trick. Inside is a stash of goodies, each arranged in a separate portfolio. The first contains three original etchings by Magritte, numbered and signed and stamped by the Magritte estate; next is a five-piece full-size reproduction on canvas of The Eternally Obvious, a woman split into as many parts; and last are eight reproductions each of the gouaches The Pig's Beer and Horse Preserve, printed on adhesive paper and meant to be stuck on to bottles just like the originals were. Also included is the hardback edition of Magritte, the catalogue for the Jeu de Paume exhibit (published by D.A.P. in spring 2003). Edited by Daniel Abadie.~Essays by Renilde Hammacher, Michel Butor, Patrick Roegiers, Jean Roudaut, Bernard Noël and Jean-Michel Goutier. Slipcased, 12 x 14.5 in./304 pgs / 291 color 70 BW0 duotone 12 3 B&W etchings, 5 canvas, 4 adhesive color prints~ Item D20365 ... Read more

Book Description

A picture of a pipe is not really a pipe, and a daylight-filled sky can shine over a streetlamp-lit townhouse, and a painting of a window inside a painting of a sitting room can be the window in that sitting room, and a room-sized rock can gaze out of that room at the sea, and, of course, a man is a suit can have a green apple for a face. At least, that is, in the world of Magritte. And who wouldn't want to believe in that world, or at least take pleasure in the ability to recognize parts of it in our own? One of the most charming and beloved of the surrealists, René Magritte took a light, witty paintbrush and created a world both familiar and not--but always recognizable in our dreams. His plays on semiotics, identity, the idea of woman, the possibilities inherent in objects, and the idea that everything was not necessarily what it seemed--or what it was supposed to be--are celebrated here in an intelligent retrospective monograph, featuring more than 150 paintings, sculptures, objects, and works on paper. The organization of this catalogue paints Magritte as an innovator, and an artist who has had significant influence on contemporary creators. Accompanying essays, including an introduction by Alain Robbe-Grillet, inventor of the nouveau roman, consider Magritte's influence on modern and contemporary art. Magritte's relationships with his surrealist contemporaries Louis Scutenaire and André Breton, and the art dealers Edward James and Alexandre Iolas, are each revealed through individual art historical texts and a selection of unpublished letters. An illustrated chronology is included as well. This catalogue is published in conjunction with an exhibition at the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume in Paris.
My painting is visible images which conceal nothing; they evoke mystery and, indeed, when one sees one of my pictures, one asks oneself this simple question "What does that mean?" It does not mean anything, because mystery means nothing either, it is unknowable. --René Magritte

Essays by Jean Roudaut, Patrick Roegiers, Daniel Abadie, Jean-Michel Goutier, Bernard Noël, Sarah Whitefeld and Renilde Hammacher.
Introduction Alain Robbe-Grillet.

Hardcover, 8.5 x 10.5 in., 272 pages, 220 color & 30 b/willustrations ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Amazing work. An achievement away from Renee
This encompasses not on Magritte's work, life, and philosophy, this book flexes an illusive, easily comprehendible style that makes the sections upon Wittgensteinian philosophy enjoyible to read and easy to digest. Highly, highly recommended.

Great for beginner art lovers as well as experts-Fast read!
This book illustrates the reader through Magritte's life while giving background to the works. I read this book for fun and subsequently decided to study Magritte in school. It discusses surrealism as a whole as well as the historical context of Magritte's work. This book got me hooked on Magritte!! ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (2)

The Best Magritte Book out there!
You know how Time Life comes out with those informercials selling CD collections - claiming that if you tried to buy all the different albums for the songs that they have all in one set, you would spend hundreds of dollars?

Well, it's kind of the same deal with art books. I will wait YEARS if necessary to buy the right book of XYZ artist - and my search ended with the Portable Magritte. It is not a particularly LARGE book, but if you are looking for a favorite work, you are more likely to find it here than in other books!

Hi.
Good book.. All pictures of all Magritte's works. good coffee table book. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

ONE OF THE MASTERS OF SURREALISM
While surrealism is not everyone's cup of tea,RENE MAGRITTE is certainly one of it's most celebrated figure.What i like about that collection is that it's affordable, even if it can't have everything.You can not say you don't have your money's worth.MAGRITTE is basically a painter who thinks ,that's why his works is unique in a strange way.The visuals aspects of his sex oriented works are often quite funny.Rock fans will recognize the sleeve of JEFF BECK'S TRUTH a 1968 record who uses LA CHAMBRE D'ÉCOUTE(The green apple).Those BELGIAN artists MAGRITTE,DELVAUX and TANGUAY were really something else.

those apples look delicious
if asked to pick a favourite surrealist i would have to pick rené magritte, his images are so clean & refined. the apples, the bowlers hat, and the floating crowd, all signatures of magritte have become embedded in mainstream culture because of the beauty of his works. so far i haven't found a better source of magritte's artworks, this book is a must for your coffee table!

A Great Book For Anyone
This 89 page book is great for, artists, art fanactics, or anyone interested in Magritte or Surrealist art. This book goes through Magritte's life as an artist. I think its a great deal because there is so much of his artwork included to go along with the text, and its all in color. I enjoyed the chronology at the end of the book and the photographs of Magritte with his family and other members of the Surrealist group. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

More large (good quality) pictures would have been better
In my opinion, the most important thing about a book about a pictorial artist is (usually) the actual pictures shown(including the quality of the reproductions), and I feel in this respect this book falls rather flat. Not only are there not enough large (full or half page) pictures for a book of this size (216 pages) - some of them are poor quality reproductions (a painfully common feature of art books) - why do paintings vary so much between different reproductions?

Instead the book is mainly concerned with excessively wordy discourses on Magritte and his work. I'm not saying I didn't find any of it interesting, but the information and insight I gleaned after 8 hours of reading could have been put over with half as much text. I don't have a problem with writers indulging in intellectual analysis, so long as it is concise and well written, and this wasn't always the case.

Incidentally, Magritte by Richard Calvocoressi (Phaidon - April 1993) is much shorter but has much better pictures in it.

(review altered 27 May 2005, partly to remove British slang words that may have caused confusion)

I like the pictures
This is an excellent book about prolific Belgian Surrealist Rene Magritte and contains over 400 illustrations spanning his entire career, a biography, and explanations of themes and imagery. I looked around for a good book on Magritte and this is the best one I could find. It contains his most famous paintings: man with apple in front of face, it's raining men in bowler hats, giant stone chair with regular smaller chair on top of it, there's no space in this room because there's a giant apple in it, etcetera. I like to sit and look at the pictures and then think about what they mean.Unfortunately, this collection does not have the one where the man's head is a giant orange.

If you are interested in Magritte and would like to find out more, go to the Magritte website and order the Mystery of Magritte interactive CD-Rom. That is an excellent with lots of neat stuff. There are excellent explanations of what his work meant, many pictures, Magritte's own voice and footage of him, detailed biography, and much more.

More for your money
As the description above states, this book contains 400 illustrations covering Magritte's entire career. I found that after reading "The Essential Magritte," this was a perfect continuation in my introduction to this man's work. The price is also unbeatable, considering what some art books go for these days. Well written and illustrated, this book was a wonderful find.

Absolutely amazing
This book on Margritte includes fabulous images and great explanations andreferences to Magritte's life. I purchased this book in Dutch in Europe,for about four times the price listed here. This is an absolute bargain,and I sincerely regret not having purchased it from Amazon, although Igreatly enjoyed having purchased it overall. Any Magritte fan cannot missthis book! Enjoy. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great introduction
This is a great introduction to Magritte's work. It's well organized, give's various quotes from Magritte himself and has serveral sidebars of information realted to Magritte's life and work. It is a quick read, and is not bogged down with a lot "artsy", hard to understand terminology (Any art teminology that IS included is clearly defined in common terms). The book is jammed full of Magritte's paintings, and they are all full color (which is not always the case with art books). To sum up, this is a great springboard into the work of Magritte.

This is essential!
What a wonderful little book. Clearly written with the appropriate amount of biography and historical reference. Excellent plates of many of Magritte's important works that represent his career from start to finish. In less than 30 minutes, your appreciation and understanding of Magritte will blossom! I recommend this book to anyone who loves modern art. I recommend this book to all who think they don't like modern art. I recommend this book for everyone! ... Read more

Book Description

This book reveals the many tantalizing guises of Magritte as painter, writer, Surrealist, thinker, chess player, graphic designer, advertising man, magazine editor, anti-Fascist, moviegoer, pulp mystery fan, and classical music lover. Finally you'll understand (and laugh at) the meaning of that train zooming out of the fireplace and the giant green apple that fills an entire room. Rich with background information about Dada and Surrealism; plentiful anecdotes and pertinent and poignant quotesA magnificent tour through Matisse's intensely rich world of color and lineSmart, high-energy digest of Matisse's life and artMatisse's place within the Modernist movement brilliantly analyzedRich with background information, anecdotes, and pertinent and poignant quotes. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

OPTICAL ILLUSIONIST
A leader of the Surrealist movement, Belgian artist Magritte was a highly unique painter who combined the ordinary, the bizarre, and the erotic to startling effect. Using a repertoire of images which he repeated again and again, he remained true to his form throughout his productive life.

With a gift for optical illusion, Magritte has become an icon of pop culture - his influence evident in everything from corporate logos to advertising design. He is the artist who would have a locomotive steaming out of a fireplace, men in bowler hats floating in midair, and an enormous castle topped rock suspended above the ocean.

Suspend all preconceived notions to enjoy this non-tradiitonalist. And, when you do, it's fun! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

barely scratching the surface
High production value, austere design, and excellent reproduction is what Phaidon books are famous for. While this Colour Library series is not a comprehensive format, this one rarely discusses Magritte's paintings in any interesting critical angle. The author most often than not offer speculations on Magritte's inspirations. And gosh, how many times he has to include "also appears in Varietes." Maybe the Taschen version offers a better combination of text and visuals. ... Read more

Amazon.com

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. ... Read more