Koji Mori, "Magritte: The True Face Hidden in Light and Darkness" Summary and Comments - Recommended reference book to learn about Magritte's life and the background of his work.
This time we would like to introduce "Magritte: The True Face Hidden in Light and Darkness" by Koji Mori, published by Mahr in 2013.
Previously introduced.Magritte: A Life and Work I Want to Know More Aboutwas a great guidebook for an introduction to Magritte, and this book is a recommended reference for those who want to know more about Magritte.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
Koji Mori, the first Japanese artist to be accredited by the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Belgium, has written a new interpretation of Magritte's works. In addition to such well-known Japanese works as "Empire of Light," "Large Family," and "Pyrenean Castle," the book also includes pre-Surrealist works that are essential to understanding Magritte's life and rare works that have never been published in a Japanese art book before, making it a substantial collection of his art. In addition to the works, the book also contains a wealth of black-and-white films from the period and photographs of current locations associated with Magritte! Magritte, nicknamed "the magician of images," pursued a universal wish. You will be surprised to find that this is a universal wish of mankind.
Mahr Inc.Products Page.
This book is a commentary by Koji Mori, official commentator of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Belgium.
In the preface, the author describes the book as follows
What is your impression of Magritte, the 20th century Belgian master of Surrealism?
A giant dove from the land of the blue sky, flying through the starry sky. A pavilion stands lit up in a world of darkness under a blue sky. A huge block of stone flying over the rough waves. Or, on the other hand, countless men in melon hats floating in the blue sky. Giant green apples that seem to be about to burst, swelling to fill the room.
We tend to think of these fantastic and poetic images.
However, like many past masters, the painter Magritte had a history of immense hardship and transition before his work became poetic and fantastic in style and captivated many people.
There were many negative elements in Magritte's behavior in his youth that did not fit the image of the "Master Magritte" that he later became. For this reason, his true identity, although known to a few experts, has been virtually silenced until now due to complicated circumstances.
You can imagine why Magritte stubbornly refused to talk about his youth until his death by reading this book. The private aspects of Magritte's personal life, especially his childhood and adolescence, were veiled and therefore amplified by the mysterious beauty of his work, helping to create the Magritte myth.
However, now that the Magritte Museum of Art opened in 2009, I believe that the best way to gain a deeper understanding of Magritte's art is to know "the real face of Magritte," that is, to know him in all his good and bad aspects.
Mahr, Koji Mori, Magritte: The True Face Hidden in Light and Darkness, p. 5.
I was surprised to read in this book that the young Magritte was quite a bad boy. Moreover, the book tells us that he was directly responsible for his mother's suicide.
And that until now, Magritte's interpretation of his works had been preceded by his real life, which had been colored by mythology. This was also a surprise.
Moreover, we learned that Magritte himself had been cleverly trying to manipulate the public's perception of him.
The author, an accredited commentator for the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium, explores these realities of Magritte through detailed research in the field.
."Now that the Magritte Museum of Art opened in 2009, I believe that the best way to gain a deeper understanding of Magritte's art is to get to know the "real face of Magritte," that is, the good and the bad in all aspects of his work. "
I think it is wonderful that the author has the attitude to talk about this. In this book, we get to know a different Magritte from the one who has been talked about mythologically. The author's attitude is not simply to "expose the past" in a gossipy way, but to confront Magritte's works academically from there.
I highly recommend this reference book for those who want to know Magritte in more depth.
The above is "Koji Mori, Magritte: The True Face Hidden in Light and Darkness," a recommended reference book to learn about Magritte's life and the background of his works.
Next Article.
Click here to read the previous article.
Related Articles
