Magritte Audiobook By Alex Danchev cover art

Magritte

A Life

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Magritte

By: Alex Danchev
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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The first major biography of the pathbreaking, perpetually influential surrealist artist and iconoclast whose inspiration can be seen in everyone from Jasper Johns to Beyoncé—by the celebrated biographer of Cézanne and Braque

In this thought-provoking life of René Magritte (1898‒1967), Alex Danchev makes a compelling case for Magritte as the single most significant purveyor of images to the modern world. Magritte’s surreal sensibility, deadpan melodrama, and fine-tuned outrageousness have become an inescapable part of our visual landscape, through such legendary works as The Treachery of Images (Ceci n’est pas une pipe), and his celebrated iterations of Man in a Bowler Hat.

Danchev explores the path of this highly unconventional artist, from his middle-class Belgian beginnings to the years in which he led a small, brilliant band of surrealists (and famously clashed with André Breton) to his first major retrospective, which traveled to the United States in 1965 and gave rise to his international reputation.

Danchev delves deeply into Magritte’s artistic development and the profound questions he raised in his work about the very nature of authenticity. Artists, Architects & Photographers History & Criticism Art & Literature Biographies & Memoirs Art

Critic reviews

“Lavish, authoritative . . . A superb account of one enigmatic, enduring artist, a gratifying addition to our cultural literature, and an ode to modernity's contradictions . . . We see ourselves in [Magritte’s] compositions, and we are unnerved.” —Hamilton Cain, Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Danchev’s familiarity with francophone culture and Whitfield’s decades of Magritte expertise shine through in this absorbing, masterful biography . . . Magritte: A Life recounts the artist’s life in a sympathetic and comprehensive manner, never reducing the mystery of one of the most influential of modern artists.” —Alexander Adams, The Art Newspaper

“Far from underestimating Magritte, Danchev’s picture of him is pointillist and enormous in scope. It is full of shock.” —Jo Livingstone, The New Republic

“Thoroughly and gruesomely entertaining . . . Danchev is right to call Magritte ‘the dream merchant of our time.’ Magritte’s studiously underplayed paintings are a modern image bank, and we draw on it unknowingly every time we see the Apple logo . . . A fascinating biography.” —Dominic Green, The Wall Street Journal

“Clouds, pipes, bowler hats, umbrellas and green apples: the thought-provoking works of Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte continue to fascinate. The late Alex Danchev offers enthralling insight into the man behind the easel.” —The Herald

“Sinuous . . . [Danchev] has uncovered a life that was by turns quirky, controversial, and tinged by tragedy . . . This book leaves no doubt that the image Magritte maintained of himself as a regular citizen living a quiet life in a nondescript Brussels neighborhood was indeed performance art of the highest order.” —Tobias Grey, Airmail

“Diligent and insightful . . . Danchev proved an indefatigable researcher, and Sarah Whitfield does full justice to his labors in completing [the] final chapter of Magritte’s life.” —Tim Adams, The Guardian

“Monumental . . . A fascinating study of a man whose ‘stunning imagination ha[s] revolutionized what we see and how we understand’ . . . Sure to be the definitive account of the extraordinary artist’s life.” —Publishers Weekly

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Most relevant
Not enough mention of how he survived WW2
Surely his art would have been anathema to Hitler

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Well-researched and quite literate biography of Magritte, an important figure in modern and surrealist art. The reader is restrained in his drama but expressive, and very fluent in French and Italian names, titles, and phrases. Highly informative and engaging. Taking advantage of new scholarship, it offers different, contrasting interpretations of several major works in several mediums and the varied periods in the career of the artist.

Outstanding Presentation of the Artist & His Art.

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Was very interested to learn about Magrittes peculiarities and thoughts on art as they wove into the living of his life and his work.

Interesting perspectives, unexpected

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