No comments about Magritte, 1898-1967.

No comments about Rene Magritte: The Empire of Images.

1 comments about Magritte (Great Modern Masters).

1. 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.

No comments about Magritte: The Hayward Gallery , the South Bank Centre, London, 21 May-2 August 1992 ... [et al.].

No comments about Magritte And Photography.

No comments about Magritte, the True Art of Painting (Abradale).

No comments about Rene Magritte: Life and Work.

5 comments about This Is Not a Pipe (Quantum Books).

1. "If you are looking for a quick read"? What are you doing with Foucault when there's always another Tom Clancy? If you think that looking at pictures precludes thinking about them, then this book isn't for you.



2. No, Foucault is never easy. He sometimes even writes in Foucault-ese. But the intellectual payoffs are well worth it. Seeing him approach a single painting -- which you can look at while reading the book -- is much less taxing than seeing him dissect huge topics such as the history of prisons or the history of sex. Sure, those bigger Foucault tomes carry immense rewards all their own... but for a good, stimulating, and challenging (but not TOO challenging!) introduction to Foucault's philosophy of seeing and of naming, this is a great read.

   Perhaps this book is a better choice for philosophy or lit-crit fams than art / art history fans. The "artistic" value of the painting is really of not much importance to Foucault; he is more concerned with its self-referentiality, its use of meaning and names, and so on.




3. I read this in college while studying semiotics and surrealism, yet the message of Foucault should not be relegated to the exotic and extreme "isms" of academia. I found "Pipe" to be a marvelous and playful illustration of the tryanny of language and the Orwellian control of thought which follows. Readers of Postmodern thought, Zen, Marxism, Film Theory, Psychoanlysis, and Modern Art will find moments of illumination throughout.



4. if you consider this treacle then you certainly lack any real insight into philosophy or art criticism of the 20th century; either that, or you're carrying some kind of baggage or childish grudge.

   foucault offers us just one interpretation of magritte's _pipe_, and some thought in general about art, representation and the sign. it's really just part of an on-going discussion. it's a shame he's dead; he'd have loved usenet.

   in any case, this book is one voice in a chorus of discussion on the matter; his is also an informed, intelligent, and original voice - albeit controversial (see review below for ruffled feathers).

   this book stands on its own, but is definetly not a good introduction to foucault per se; I think it's best to start with a history of sexuality volume I, then read the introduction of history of sexuality volume II, and then you can pretty much read any foucault from there.




5. This essay entitled "This Is Not A Pipe" is a fascinating excursion into the intriguing art of the great 20th C. Belgian painter. In this essay Foucault blurs the space between the critic and the subject being criticized. His thorough analysis inculcates his own hypertextual "isms" and replicating terminology that adequately reciprocates Magritte's offbeat beauty. From Foucault's view of what he considers the two principles that ruled painting (European painting?) from the 15th C. to the 20th C., to the relationship between resemblance and similitude, the mystery and static of a Magritte painting is transported onto the pages of this book. Ultimately this text is an interesting display of the interplay between text, image and the elements inculcated in the analysis thereof.

3 comments about The Essential Rene Magritte (Essential Series).

1. 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!



2. 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.



3. 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.

No comments about Magritte: The silence of the world.