Fun Size Summary: Chipping Away at the Veil of Magritte

Born in Belgium at the end of the 19th century, Rene Magritte gained fame for his peculiar and oddly titled Surrealist works. Early in Magritte’s childhood his mother committed suicide, this proved a formative event in his artistic development. When his mother’s body was pulled from the river in which she drowned herself, as legend has it her face was completely covered by her night dress. Imagery from this incident, particularly the reoccurring Magritte theme of obscured and veiled faces, is a staple in many of Magritte’s images. Magritte works such as The Lovers and The Son of Man play directly of the theme of obscured faces that would normally be seen albeit for some obvious veil. While the idea of one thing covering another in a peculiar way is seen in many Magritte works such as Do not Recreate and The Human Condition. Magritte is quoted saying “Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see. There is an interest in that which is hidden and what the visible doesn’t show us.”

Magritte’s wife Georgette is another key to understanding Magritte. After meeting Georgette, nearly every female portrayed in Magritte’s works is Georgette. He shows her and her beauty in works like La Magie Norie and The Eternally Obvious. But some critics have called Magritte’s portrayal of women sexist. Their argument is logically rooted; The Rape and Representation certainly don’t seem to be a romantic way to portray one’s true love. Magritte and Georgette both had simultaneous affairs in the late nineteen thirties while Magritte was in England selling some of his new works. Magritte sent detailed instructions to the poet entertaining his wife about how to properly please and keep Georgette happy. The two reconciled when they were kept apart by WWII and Magritte soon realized that he couldn’t live without his beloved Georgette. On the eve of his return to Belgium he wrote a friend saying “If I were to die on the way tell Georgette when you see her that my lasts thoughts were of her.”

As opposed to being an artist in the company of artists, Magritte’s group of friends consisted mostly of poets and writers. Magritte didn’t take a fancy to the leaders of the art world and had a falling out with the leaders of the surrealist movement in the late nineteen twenties. When it came time for Magritte to name a work he rarely invented the title himself. He would consult his literary friends via letters or some other means and choose one out of the multiple of suggestions he received from them. The titles of Magritte’s works and content seem to be a juxtaposition of unrelated ideas; this is largely due to the help of his artistic companions. The “Literary Art” that Magritte made can be largely explained by the company of word weaving friends that he held.


Understanding Rene Magritte is no easy task, but understanding his past and surroundings are key to understanding his character. His artwork is often humorous and intriguing at the same time. His veiled faces and memories set in stone offer only a glimpse into his complicated mind.

1. Is Magritte’s portrayal of Georgette and other woman an act of sexism, love, or something in-between? (see Le Viol, The Eternally Obvious, Bather Between Light and Darkness, Attempting the Impossible, Galatea’s Robe, Representation)

2. Choose a Magritte painting (or two if you haven't hit 500 words) with a title completely unrelated to the work. Speculate as to how that title applies to or could apply to the work and what kind of hidden meanings could be taken from the juxtaposition of the title and image even if it wasn’t the original artist intention.

3. Write an engaging narrative about what happened to the man with the newspaper in The Man with the Newspaper. Or explain what will happen next to the murderer portrayed in The Murderer Threatened.

Manet

I found that I actually became very attached to Suzanne Manet reading this story, more so than I was with the charter in the previous Van Gogh based story. I understand her to be a very sincere and thoughtful woman. She is obviously mourning the death of her recently deceased husband, but this does not completely incapacitate her. As a part of her grieving process she gets closure between herself and one of the women her husband had an affair with. I was surprised by how satisfying the moment was for me when Suzanne returned from Victorine’s flat and started a fire. Not only had she come to the conclusion that she was Eduard’s one true love, being with him to the end, but she came to appreciate the little things Eduard did in his lifetime. My personal favorite moment was when she noticed the way her feet angled outward in the same way that her husband had painted them. As opposed to the way she disapproved of their portrayal in the painting at the beginning of the story, she very much enjoyed them this time.

Having background information on the life and work of Eduard Manet I believe that I enjoyed this story much more than that of Van Gogh. From a historical perspective it is easy to appreciate all the idiosyncrasies of Manet’s life and work imbedded in the text. The two passages that I much enjoyed show Suzanne’s process of what I wouldn’t quite call revenge, but a stage of confrontation to receive closure in her grieving process. When Isabelle, another one of Eduard’s lovers, approaches Suzanne in the grievance line Suzanne shows her the letter she has addressed to her from Eduard. After she reads it Suzanne snatches it away and turns her back on a mourning and resentful Isabelle. The other passage that I’m sure many people chose is Suzanne’s confrontation with Victorine. Both of these instances show that Suzanne was emotionally closer to Eduard and his true love. This shows something about Suzanne’s character, at first she wasn’t confident about her role in Eduard’s life following his death, but she becomes more confident in their love after she stands up for herself.

I think that it is a combination of events that affect and shape our lives. I don’t know if I am in an appropriate position to make a philosophical judgment of freewill with the limited information I have been given in this story. I get the sense from the author that Suzanne is still going to do something noteworthy in her life besides simply being the wife of a famous painter. I’m curious as to if that prediction will prove true.

Though I still think the writing and dialogue are a bit odd as in the Van Gogh piece, I enjoyed this piece quite a lot. I become very attached to the character of Suzanne and felt a great deal of contentment at the end of the story when she reached a sense of resolve. I think because of the background information I had on the artist going into this piece it was much easier to become a fan of the story. This type of piece, in my mind, would be very hard to understand for someone without any knowledge of the artist's biography in mind and very much appreciated by a fan of the artist.

Annotated Bibliography - Bindo Altoviti

http://www.myteespot.com/images/Images_d/DSCF1720.jpg


"Bindo Altoviti." National Gallery of Art. 2008. 03 Feb. 2009 .

This is an article solely dedicated portrait of Bindo Altoviti painted by Rafael in 1515. What I learned from it holds true to many of the observations I made in my initial analysis (awesome). Altoviti is a wealthy young banker no older than twenty five. He has never worked a day of physical labor in his life and his wealth has afforded him clean hair and elegant clothing. The gaze and posture of the subject are typical of Renaissance art. Falling in love was done through the eyes and as the author of this piece suggested, could be gazing at his with whom he married in 1511. It seems that I have mistaken a gaze of lust and seductiveness with a gaze of sleepiness. In my interpretation I thought he looked tired or like he was longing for something he couldn't have. Maybe I mistake lust with exhaustion all the time, which would explain my women problems. But that is another story.

"RAFFAELLO." Web Gallery of Art, image collection, virtual museum, searchable database of European fine art. 03 Feb. 2009 .

This source is a biography of Rafael’s career. His first know paintings are from 1500 which means that my portrait of Bindo Altoviti would be at least fifteen years into Rafael’s career and be painted in his mature style. While this work was commissioned Rafael was in Rome and at the same time painting works of art for the Vatican. This source is helpful because it provides me with a bit of insight into one of the questions that I added to the question sheet. Which is “why did the painter paint this?” I now know that Rafael painted this because of money. Rafael was commissioned for this portrait because of his fame as an artist, and Bindo Altoviti as a wealthy man must have wanted nothing but the best for his portrait. As well, my guess is that Rafael painted this portrait pretty well in line with the style of the times and his previous work to appease his customer. The gaze that Altoviti has I learned is typical of that of portraits of the times.

"Raphael, Cellini, and a Renaissance Banker. The Patronage of Bindo Altoviti * Raphael and the Beautiful Banker. The Story of the Bindo Altoviti Portrait * Gondola Days: Isabella Stewart Gardner and the Palazzo Barbaro Circle -- Henry 18 (1): 89 -- Journal of the History of Collections." Oxford Journals. 2006. Oxford University Press. 02 Feb. 2009 .

This article is actually three book reviews published in an Oxford University Journal about three newly published books on Rafael’s portrait of Bindo Altoviti. As it turns out, the portrait has a very rich history and has recently as 2006 has been subject to debate in scholarly circles. I found it interesting that in WWII the portrait was stolen from its owner and swapped with a mediocre fake. The scholarly debate occurring is in relation to Altoviti’s age at the painting of the portrait. Some believe that it was painted around 1518 and others think it coincides with his wedding in 1511. Though this review doesn’t delve into the arguments used in the books, it does mention that scholars have investigated Altoviti’s banking and financial records to see if he could even afford the painting in 1511 or 1518. I think it would be interesting to read up on this if I have time. What I took away from this article is that Rafael’s paintings are still relevant today not only in the art community but in the scholarly community.

Children of the Screen

So, I tried to be objective in this piece, but I read it over and I just sound like a big jerk face and a stalker.

Well, I’m not sure quite how I should approach this essay. When I first read “Children of the Screen” I was surprised by the lack of factual information presented to me. Then I recalled that before reading this essay Professor Lee had informed us that because it was such an opinionated paper it as likely to be easier to respond to. But I was still a bit distraught as to the overall tone of what I thought was an article pulled from a newspaper or an academic journal. The overuse of quotes and the tone of the essay read like an Anti-American Green Day song, and it all threw me for a loop.

So I googled the name “Hannah Baylon.” and found her face book page with her status as a WSU alum and all the pictures of her new tattoo. As well, a blog she wrote for another class is pretty easy to find with Google's help.

I think that I have to disagree with this essay. The idea that we are “Children of the Screen” is true, but I would be more poised to say that we are products of technology. We aren’t really children of the screen, or at least I wouldn’t say that, it’s more like we are masters of the screen. I mean, we aren’t going to be living up to our “fullest potential” as she put it without using the screen. Communication and Information sharing are two of the most important tools needed to “flourish” in our modern day world. If we are products of anything it is technology. We fathered the screen not the other way around.

It’s a pretty central theme of human existence that we adapt to our environments. Technology is kind of the way that we adapt, and the screen is its latest physical form. I’m sure that X amount of years down the road when a new and better technology has become the norm old timers like me will talk to their grandkids about the “Golden Days” when we only had a TV and a computer to keep us company.

Hannah does have a point when she says that we “waste” time in front of the screen. But wasting time has been a human tradition. I love going to the theatre (in a very masculine way) but I’m not doing anything productive there. And I’m sure that it wasn’t that productive back in the days of the Greeks. So yeah, that’s how I feel, like a big jerk face. So, sorry for being a big jerk face book stalker.

Sincerely,

The Picture Of Dorian Gray

Dorian Gray is a young British Aristocrat who is the subject of a portrait painted by another Brit, Basil Hallward. The artist is infatuated with the innocence and youth of the subject and feels that while painting the portrait he was guided by supernatural forces. Lord Wotton, who is present at the completion of the painting, comments that Dorian’s youth is wonderful and dwells upon how splendid it would be if the painting grew old instead of Dorian himself. Dorian, entranced by this notion, wishes in the presence of an ancient Egyptian idol that in exchange for his soul he would never grow old. His wish is granted (cue lighting and dramatic music).

Dorian falls in love with a wonderful singer, Sibyl Vane, and the two are soon to be married. He breaks of the engagement, but looking at his painting he notices sinister lines in his face have appeared and decides to reconcile with her. Before he has a chance though, Lord Wotton arrives and informs Dorian of her suicide. The next day Dorian is emotionless and continues on like this for the next eighteen years. The only thing that ages is his portrait. Eighteen years later we see much evidence of the pain Dorian has caused people and rumors persist about the sorts of terrible things that he has done. Dorian kills Basil Hallward, the man who painted his portrait and Hallward’s niece, who now is the same age as Dorian appears to be, falls in love with him and they are to be married.

The brother of Dorian’s first love, Sibyl Vane, has been searching for Dorian ever since his sister’s death and attempts to kill him. The brother is killed in a hunting accident. Dorian resolves that he can no longer go on hurting people like he does and stabs the his portrait in the heart with the same knife he killed it’s painter with. This in turn kills Dorian. His body is discovered moments later.

I don’t get the sense that the piece was created with a message. I think that it was a very interesting idea for a novel and a film but I don’t know if it was written with the original or sole intent of pushing a life lesson. If there was to be a life lesson I did get the idea that one only has one life to live and should keep a healthy soul while living it. As well, the idea that one is the sum of what they have done and should enjoy each of life’s stages equally from birth, to youth and to death.

The final scene where Dorian stabs the painting and kills himself I found particularly interesting. In seemingly every other scene in which the painting was displayed a color shot of the portrait was shown. I’m not sure why a color shot was omitted this time. In this scene Dorian no longer speaks in the clever way he and his fellow Englishmen spoke throughout the film. He is reduced to a ranting lunatic, discussing wild plans of moving to another country to start anew. He held the notion that he could somehow change his portrait (soul) for the better and erase the blood from his soul. When Dorian stabs the painting it seems to me that he hoped he was killing the memories of what he had done. But the portrait was not a scrapbook, it was his soul. And as to the message, this adds to the idea that you are what you have done and you can’t erase the past. Dorian tried to erase his wrongdoings, but he finally paid for them.

January 15th - "Who is that person?" Assignment

This portrait looks very Middle Ages to me, the pose that the subject holds, along with his clothing and the paints used, all back up that theory in my mind. The subject is young and looks like he has never worked a day in his life. His soft, pale skin that leads me to believe that he was born into some deal of money. If he or someone could afford to have a portrait commissioned of him they would have to have a bit of money back in the middle ages and even in today’s time.

It’s possible that he is royalty, being the son of a king, or a duke, or someone else donning a crown. The ring on his finger looks to be golden or some sort of precious metal so someone he is related to has money. I’m not one hundred percent sure what the children of royalty dress like but his cap doesn’t strike me as something that the rich would wear. It could be that he is the son of royalty who holds himself in a bit of a rebellious anti-wealth kind of style. His hair doesn’t look perfectly well kept, but it’s clean. He’s definitely the kind of person that can afford a regular bath.

Even though he doesn’t look like he has done much physical labor in his lifetime, his face looks tired. He’s glancing over his right shoulder at something that he has a great deal of emotion attached to. I’m not sure if he’s watching men ride off in to battle and wanting to be one of them, or watching the love of his life walk away from him. But whatever he is looking at, he appears to be lost in deep thought about something. He looks like he is both optimistic and sad about whatever has caught his gaze. I’m curious as to why for portrait he chose a pose that is so effeminate. Typically when I see a portrait from this time period, or a portrait of anyone in general, they are striking some kind of valiant pose. Or at least a pose that puts them in some sort of positive or at least masculine light.

There really is something about the subject’s face that strikes me though. I can’t seem to wrap my mind around what is going on in his mind. He doesn’t look sad, but he doesn’t look happy, melancholy, optimistic, pessimistic, noble, apathetic, or any of the emotions that come to my mind. He just looks like he is thinking very hard about something.

As a last thought I will add that to my knowledge, portraits were paid for by the arm and leg (hence the phrase). So my other wild idea is that he is a young Irish businessman (he looks very Irish) about to go off into battle with the damn Brits. His wife is pregnant and in the case that the man dies in battle he wants a portrait for his son to remember him by. So he and his wife scrape together what little money they have, the man takes a bath and puts on his father’s golden ring and a portrait is painted. Then the Irishman goes valiantly off into battle to fight the British.

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