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.Book Description
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. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (3)

What a collection!
Magritte, straight up - his pictures and almost nothing else.

It's an incredibly rich experience, and even better for its strict chronological order. I'm fascinated to see themes appear, endure, fade away, and recur. What are those silvery balls with the black bands? Why tubas? That nearly Impressionist phase in the mid 1940s was a remarkable depature, but one that didn't last.

Best of all, the time series lets me see his skills develop. I like his later figures much better than the earlier ones, for one thing. His landscapes and textures gained in subtlety, too. Most of all, he continued to develop his language of image throughout his life - "The Blank Signature" (Le Blanc-seign) expresses ambiguities that he seemed to have worked decades to achieve.

Except for a brief time-line at the end, there is no commentary. I like that, at least I like it better than un-helpful commentary. Hughes consciously leaves me and Magritte alone with each other. That's fine by me - Magritte spoke through his pictures, and I might not have appreciated the interruption.

The book is beautifully printed, but somewhat small. Given this book's quality of color, wealth of images, and modest cost, I can accept that. It's a great introduction to this Surrealist master, a book I keep coming back to.

//wiredweird

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

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, Rena 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 Andra 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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Is this not a pipe?
The catalogue for a comprehensive exhibition at the Jeu de Paume in Paris held in 2003, this book is a very good, well-documented, well-illustrated study of this ubiquitous Belgian artist who has inspired so many contemporary artists and publicists. There is quite a lot of material available on Magritte and I would say this one is one of the safest bets. Daniel Abadie is a leading French modern art historian and curator and his signature is a token of quality. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Good insight to the artist
Excellent book into the thoughts of the artist! If you are a Magritte fan, you'll love this book.

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 renémagritte, his images are so clean & refined. the apples, the bowlershat, and the floating crowd, all signatures of magritte have becomeembedded in mainstream culture because of the beauty of his works. so far ihaven't found a better source of magritte's artworks, this book is a mustfor 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 hisartwork included to go along with the text, and its all in color. I enjoyedthe chronology at the end of the book and the photographs of Magritte withhis family and other members of the Surrealist group.

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 hisartwork included to go along with the text, and its all in color. I enjoyedthe chronology at the end of the book and the photographs of Magritte withhis family and other members of the Surrealist group. ... Read more

Book Description
In the search for the "mystery" that envelops things and organisms, Reni Magritte (1898-1967) created pictures which, taking everyday reality as their starting point, followed a unique, otherworldly logic. He invented an inimitable pictorial language that he used to question our usual comprehension of reality and art. In this book, Jacques Meuris traces Magritte's artistic development from its beginnings until the end of his life, revealing the originality of this great Belgian Surrealist. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A fascinating biography!

"I don' t believe neither in the unconscious, nor that the world represents before us as dream, except when we are asleep". René Magritte.

Rene Magritte' s work and the thought in which it 's based constitute a special case in the modern art story. H studied at the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Brussles during the last years of theWW1. And together with E.L.T. Messens, Camille Goemans, Marcel Lecomte and Paul Nogué, he formed a kind of Belgian surrealist group. In 1927 he established close ties with Breton and Eluard, moving back to Brussels in 1939 until his death in 1967.

He began as a Cubist and his first Surrealist pictures were painted after 1925.In his search of the unfathomable mystery that surrounds to things and living beings. So starting from daily reality, he follows a distinct route, he best for the logic in the multiple associations and ideas. Being an avid reader of detective stories and a big fan of Edgar Allan Poe, you may understand why his style fits so well defined in this category. He painted isolated fragments of objects set in landscapes in the same vein of De Chirico his most remarkable influence received. And according Scheneede's opinion "If we regard Duchamp as the prototype of the scandalous, Man ray the prototype of the inventive and Max Ernst the prototype of the inspirative artist, Magritte have to be called the prototype of the intellectual artist".That' s why Magritte developed the symbolism mixing elements of the reality and facing them with itself in such original way supporting in just an unique logic puzzle as anyone else. Dali, in the other hand blended reality with archetypical dreams or reality surrounded by unconscious gaze gifted with a major doses of black humor and cynicism.

The author Jacques Meuris is emeritus Professor of the Superior School of Visual Arts in Brussels and makes an admirable artistic effort with exquisite reproductions of this notable artist: an authentic icon among the Surrealist giants. Specially recommended for any kind of reader who is really interested in knowing the most intimate details about the life and works of R.M.

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)

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

Customer Reviews (3)

Magritte for Beginners
This little book is cute and simply explains who he is and some of his artwork. Not a bad little book, but not really very intellectually stimulating.

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 Magrittewill blossom!I recommend this book to anyone who loves modern art.Irecommend this book to all who think they don't like modern art.Irecommend this book for everyone! ... Read more

Book Description
Presents a biography of René Magritte ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Must Buy!
As an Art Historian . . . University level . . . I have never come across such a succinct book on the work of this 'Academic Illusionist!'This is one case where I can not believe that so much quality has been placed in such a tiny book.This is a much more insightful and accessible read on Magritte than any 1000 page dusty book.I even thought it was rather a quaint touch that the book contained an 'errata' insert . . . Magritte would smile in his grave!Although I do expect to receive an autographed and 'corrected' copy from the author!
A must buy for ANYONES' library. ... Read more

Amazon.com
The books in Prestel's Adventures in Art series do a wonderful job of balancing respect for art with an understanding of what holds a young child's interest. Now You See It--Now You Don't is filled with excellent reproductions of the paintings of René Magritte, carefully printed in color, with a lot of white space around each one. Designed with confidence in a child's ability to find the paintings fascinating, the layout is calm, and the text is full of fun. "What a horrible meal!" reads the caption over the famous image of the plate of ham with a human eye staring out from the middle of the meat. Throughout the book such comments are written in the same proper, school-board script Magritte himself used to caption such pictures as "This is not a pipe" (which depicts--of course--a pipe). Of a painting of six everyday objects with wonky captions (such as an empty glass labeled "the storm,") titled The Key to Dreams, readers are asked, "What do you think this picture could be called?" The book reproduces many old, black-and-white, surrealist snapshots, and even introduces Man Ray to the reader. This is the sort of multifaceted book that should enthrall the parent as well as the preschooler, and probably everyone in between. --Peggy MoormanBook Description
In his mysterious paintings, Rene Magritte shows us how to see normal things in a different way. Heavy stones become light and float in the sky like clouds, a country scene shatters into lots of different pieces and a steam train chugs out of a fireplace. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Gives a good explanation of the artist's work.
As an art teacher, I have been very impressed with this series of books for children.This volume, in particular, helps to explain some of the interesting and yet bizarre qualities of this surreal artist.I look forward to the next book in this series. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

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 asthe historical context of Magritte's work. This book got me hooked onMagritte!! ... Read more

Book Description
Artwork by Jan Ceuleers. Contributions by David Sylvester. ... Read more