Introducing Magritte's music lithographs

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INTRODUCING MAGRITTE'S MUSIC LITHOGRAPHS
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Everybody knows the name of MAGRITTE through the various
books, magazines, exhibitions and catalogues devoted to that great
Belgian surrealist painter. Born in 1898 in Lessines, a village along
the linguistic border of that bilingual European country, René
Magritte was the eldest son of a family of three boys. In 1900, his
family moved on to Charleroi, a coal mining city in the South of
Belgium, near the French border. At the time he was fourteen, his
mother committed suicide, throwing herself at night into a deep river
from the surroundings. One year later, at a fun fair, he met a young
girl, Georgette Berger, who was to become his wife nine years later,
in 1922. For six years in succession, he studied sporadically at a
high school of painting in Brussels, while beginning in the meantime
to earn his living, drawing publicity prints, fashion plates and even
wallpaper design. In 1927, Magritte held his first exhibition of
paintings at the gallery "Le Centaure" in Brussels. At the time, the
reviews were not very laudatory. Nevertheless, the world-wide
reputation of the artist grew year by year. His last exhibition was
held at the Modern Art Museum of New-York in 1965, two years before
his death.

Magritte designed his first sheet music cover in 1924. His
brother Paul, a famous popular musician of his time who had already
composed many songs before 1925, put the young artist in touch with
two music publishers established in Brussels. From that time on to
1938, Magritte has illustrated sheet music covers the number of which
can be estimated today at more than sixty different items. During his
stay in Paris, from 1927 to 1930, he also designed three sheet music
covers commissioned by some French music publishers.

Four categories of styles can be made out : single lettering
or stylized, figurative, art-deco and surrealistic. Though only the
latter is truly announcing the future style of the artist, the design
of sheet music covers accounts for the major part of the lithographic
printed works concerned with publicity, including a few prints and
books illustrations.

His wife Georgette used to sit for him for practically all the
women's portraits. Most of the covers drawings are signed with the
artist's real name or aliases : "Magrit", "Emair" (phonetically, - in
French - , the initials of his name : M.R.), "Dongo", "Polo" (his
brother's first name). Some others are not signed at all, i.e. the
famous "Marie Trombone Chapeau Buse" (one copy of which can be seen at
the Royal Albert I Library in Brussels/LP5684C), a song composed by
Paul Magritte on a poem by surrealist Paul Colinet.

Some drawings were solely meant to emphasize the title of the
song. This is particularly noticeable in the serious music melodies
for which the artist was confined most of the time to a rather poor
semasiology, simply unbounding text and image. Like practically all
other of that kind, those music sheets were published in two different
sizes: 10½ x 13¾ (called "de-luxe" edition, generally with
chromolithographic cover) and 7 x 10½ (standard monochrome edition).
Whereas most of the popular songs were published in both sizes, the
serious music melodies are only available in whole size, obviously due
to the uncompressible piano accompaniment part.

It seems to be obvious that, at the time they were published,
no musician ever bought any of those music sheets especially for the
design of their covers. Many copies were lost or simply thrown out in
process of time. But today, many collectors all over the world are
casting covetous eyes to all those very rare Magritte's sheet music,
even the most simplest lettering, provided that they are signed or
formally authenticated. Since the music publishers used to send copies
to their foreign agents, it is still possible to hit upon some copies
at antique shops or public auctions. Unless you are lucky enough to
hit upon some copies in your grand-mother's storehouse, you will have
to pay a rather high price for a copy in clean condition. In any case,
they can only progressively grow in value as new collectors feel a
increasing interest in such items.

Further information, partial indexes and reproductions can be
found in the following books and catalogues :

- "Essai sur Magritte et la publicité", by Georges Roque, Flammarion,
Paris, 1983.
- "La Musique en Wallonie et à Bruxelles" vol. II, by Franz
Wangermée, Brussels, 1982.
- Vovelle.
- Blavier.
- "Magritte et la Musique", Les partitions musicales illustrées par
Magritte, Schwilden, Brussels, 1995.

Any comments or inquiries are welcome by e-mail : ping...@ping.be
Photographs at http://www.ping.be/~ping7207/magritte.htm