Tuesday, April 15, 2014

M = Magritte, René - A to Z Blog Challenge

ART: Artists, Art Trivia, Art Legends

A glimpse of the ART world, in the manner of an alphabetical mini-art tour. ART focuses on artists and art movements between the 1850's-1960's. There are exceptions.






M = Magritte, Rene
1898 - 1967
Surrealist


A model steam engine coming out of the fireplace, or a faceless suit in the mirror?
Sound familiar? You could be having surreal dreams.


René François Ghislain Magritte was a Belgian surrealist artist, well known for a number of thought-provoking Surrealist images. He combined ordinary objects in an unusual context. Magritte's work is known for challenging observers' preconditioned perceptions. His paintings have been frequently 'adapted' or plagiarized in advertisements, posters, book covers, etc. As a result, there are specific restrictions on his images.

Links to his paintings and the artist below.

Little is known of Magritte's early life. He started drawing lessons in 1910, two years before his mother committed suicide by drowning. The constant references to illusion and reality in his painting has been linked to his mother's death in 1912, when he was a young boy. 

Two artists who fell under Magritte's spell were: Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns. There were many others. Popular interest in Magritte's work increased in the 1960's, as did his influence on POP, Minimalist and Conceptual art.

René Magritte died of cancer, August 1967 at the age of 68, in his own bed. He is interred in a cemetery in Brussels. The Magritte Museum opened to the public in May 2009 in Brussels. Located in the Hotel Altenloh on the Place Royale, it displays some 200 original Magritte paintings, drawings and sculptures. Another museum dedicated to the artist is also located in Brussels, in Magritte's former home.

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The Artist
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Magritte


Links. . .due to artists or estate copyrights still in effect


The Treachery of Images
Caption: "Ceci n'est pas une pipe.", Fr. for "This is not a pipe." painted in 1929.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Treachery_of_Images


Time Transfixed, one of many created for surrealist patron and Magritte supporter Edward James, in 1938.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Transfixed

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Surrealism is a cultural movement, beginning in the early 1920s, and is best remembered for its visual artworks and writings. Their mission: to 'resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality.'


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Are you a fan of Surrealism or of René Magritte? Do you think psychological damage can be caused by traumatic events in early life?

Please leave a comment to let me know you were here! I'll respond and visit back.

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Brought to you by the A to Z Blog Challenge 2014 Team and the originator: Lee of Tossing it Out. Click the A to Z list of participants and read on. Hope to see you again throughout the blogfest.

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