Magritte : the treachery of images /

This is a long-overdue reappraisal of Belgian surrealist René Magritte. Belgium declared 2017 the "year of Magritte," marking the 50th anniversary of the artist's death. The volume catalogues an exhibition at the Schirn Gallery (Frankfurt, Germany) that is the fruit of this memorial celebration. By focusing attention on the deliberation with which Magritte returned repeatedly to paint an established personal iconography, this book offers new contexts for understanding his iconic pipes, curtains, floating metal orbs, and bowler hats. The essays situate Magritte's juxtaposition of word and image within the intertwined philosophies of visual and verbal representation promoted by thinkers such as Ludwig Wittgenstein and Michel Foucault. Taken together, the nine essays reveal that Magritte understood his painting to be a vehicle for philosophical investigation. His chosen subjects and the deadpan realism with which he painted them connect his work with ancient tales about the origins of art while providing fodder for 20th-century philosophical inquiry. These essays are eminently readable but do not diminish the complexity of the philosophical (painted) questions Magritte's art raises. Magritte would have appreciated this catalogue's well-designed layout and beautiful reproductions. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers/ faculty. --James E. Housefield, University of California, Davis