Decoding Magritte

by Silvano Levy

In a groundbreaking analysis, Silvano Levy unravels the hidden structures of Magritte's paintings. Decoding Magritte puts forward the theory that aphasia, the injury-induced inability to produce and comprehend language, is the elusive key to an underlying artistic mechanism. Magritte had often hinted that there was a covert rationale behind his production, but never gave explanations. Drawing on his conversations with the artist's widow and key members of the Belgian surrealist group, Silvano Levy deciphers Magritte's oeuvre in a meticulous study that rests on linguistics and structuralist theory. This investigation first probes Magritte's early career within the avant-garde, Cubism and Dada, and then systematically sets out the artist s pictorial deconstruction of the pictorial schema. The inclusion of previously unavailable source material in the form of photographs and substantial interviews with Georgette Magritte, Louis Scutenaire, Irene Hamoir, Marcel Marien and George Melly provides valuable primary resources, as well as shedding additional light on the 'Magritte code'. Contents: Acknowledgements; To Decode or not to Decode; Rebel in the Making 1919-1924; Rebel Artist; Pure Art and Abstraction; Vile Paintings; Dada; Cubism; The Spark; The Rebellion 1924-1930; Unlocking the Code; Crumbling Space; Shattering Anatomy; Elastic Form; Fragmentation; Pictorial Primaries; Vague Things; Pictorial Negation; Beyond Representation; Decoding; Interviews by Silvano Levy; Georgette Magritte; Louis Scutenaire & Irene Hamoir; Marcel Marien, first interview; Marcel Marien, second interview; George Melly; Rene Magritte, letter to Pierre-Louis Flouquet; Illustrations; Bibliography; Index."

256 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2015

Reviews

[Emre Sevinç · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a readable analysis of maybe the most iconic painter of Belgium. It puts the great Magritte into context by analyzing what and who influenced his artistic development. Even if the reader is not very well-versed on the history of surrealism, cubism, etc. the style of the author gently explains what kind of artistic, and by extension, philosophical, problems Magritte dealt with throughout his different periods. This I found valuable, because as is the case with great philosophers, an important path to understanding their work is by learning, in addition to their intellectual goals, also their "enemies" in terms of ideas: what they are against, as well as what they're for.

Having said that, there's a surprising aspect of the book, and I have to say a rather pleasant one for someone with cognitive science, clinical psychology or linguistics background: the author connects some of the key artistic ideas of Magritte to the various types of aphasia: fascinating disorders of the brain that reveal themselves as speech problems in many differing aspects. Departing from this thesis, the author focuses on the relationship between speech, language, and of course thought, meaning, and consciousness. Once the stage is set in these scientific, linguistic and philosophical terms, I found it impossible not to evaluate some of Magritte's paintings in a different, new, and enriched perspective. I'm thankful to author, not only for this, but also many other questions it triggered.

The book's final section, the interviews with Magritte's dear wife, and his closest friends, is like a cherry on the cake, providing a glimpse into the private life of the artist. The nature of their content doesn't allow for more technical analysis, but still, it adds a little more context (which might sometimes run the risk of being slightly misleading), to the oeuvre of Magritte via personal histories.

The question remains: is it possible to really understand Magritte? How successful was Foucault in his analysis? When it comes to Magritte, I started to think that these questions are similar to the question of "what's the meaning of meaning?".

If you're ready for a great analysis of this Belgian master, I invite you this book. If you're also into the recent scientific and philosophical developments and discussions of cognitive science, linguistics, psychology of perception, and problem of consciousness, you'll probably enjoy this book as much as I did.