THESE THINGS I HOLD to be self-evident: that pictures have frames: that art has a history more than one in fact; that you can paint from a model; that things sometimes look alike; that I shall be talking about a painter named René Magritte. My theme (his theme) will be the doubts that hover in the atmosphere like old smells around any piece of self-evidence. René Magritte, the artist in dark overcoat and derby, presents credentials as a wallpaper painter, speculative semanticist, and frame-up operator. Here’s what he does. He takes the entire Western tradition of optical likeness, perfected
ALEX DANCHEV, WITH SARAH WHITFIELD. New York, New York: Pantheon, 2021. 480 pages.“RENÉ MAGRITTE is the single most significant purveyor of images to the modern world.” Such is the bold claim that launches Alex Danchev’s biography of the painter. Danchev, who died before completing the volume, goes on to name Magritte’s many collectors and admirers, a list that includes Jeff Koons, Yoko Ono, Paul McCartney, and John Berger, as well as highlighting his role in bringing “the frisson of the surreal to Madison Avenue.” It is a small irony, then, that the work of an artist who, early in his career,
âAllow Notificationsâ on the message appearing on your browser to activate them. We will send you a quick reminder in the future, in case you change your mind.