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Summary
Summary
"Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see." --Rene Magritte
D.B. Johnson writes and illustrates the surreal story of famous surrealist painter Rene Magritte and his very mysterious (and mischievous!) hat. While the art reflects some of Magritte's own work, the text sets readers on a fun and accessible path to learning about the simpler concepts behind Mr. Magritte's work.
This delightful picture book captures the playfulness and the wonderment of surrealist art. Four transparent pages add yet another level of surrealism to the illustrations as pictures can be altered with the turn of a page.
Author Notes
D. B. Johnson has been a freelance illustrator for more than twenty years, during which time
he has drawn upon the influence and thoughts of philosophers and artists such as Henry David
Thoreau, M. C. Escher, and René Magritte to create his own masterpieces. D. B. Johnson and his
wife, Linda, live in New Hampshire. Visit his website at www.dbjohnsonart.com .
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4-"One bright day in the dark of night, the painter Magritte saw a marvelous hat in a store window." So begins this playful introduction to the style and subjects of the Belgian surrealist. Just as Johnson invited children into Thoreau's world in the "Henry" books by employing a bear to enact slices of the philosopher's life, here he casts a dog in the starring role. The bowler hat floats above the canine's head, infusing him with newfound energy, confidence, and ability. The art flows until the painter becomes overly absorbed in his work and attempts to control the bowler's impetuous personality. When the hat flees, the hunt begins. Early-20th-century Paris is the setting for parodies of many famous paintings, from "This Is Not a Pipe" ("hat" is substituted for "pipe," and it functions as a fountain) to the iconic picture of a landscape simultaneously covering the window and merging with the scene outside. References to Magritte's visual impossibilities and details are woven throughout; the illusions are further enhanced through the occasional use of cellophane pages that cleverly function on both sides. The artist's fascination with the limits of perception and two-dimensional representation provides mind-boggling images that children will relish. Johnson's additional layer of a hide-and-seek game and the inclusion of his own tricks offer more reasons to look closely. An author's note gives a brief context. Moving back and forth between this book and Magritte's art would be instructive and enjoyable for puzzle enthusiasts of any age. Beckoning, buoyant.brilliant.-Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Johnson follows Palazzo Inverso, his topsy-turvy homage to M.C. Escher, with a delightful salute to another mind- bender, Belgian surrealist painter Rene Magritte. Unexpected design elements, notably reversible images printed on transparent pages, surprise readers with clever illusions and artistic allusions: an arched gateway becomes an under-the-umbrella downpour with a page turn. "One bright day in the dark of night," Magritte-a sophisticated gray dog with smooth black hair, a la Magritte's self-portraits-purchases a gravity-defying bowler hat. Like a playful pet, the strange chapeau hovers above his head and loves "pretending to blow away." As Magritte indulges its games, he finds painterly inspiration, but when he tells it to behave, it rockets out a window. The painter chases the hat through Parisian streets, passing enigmatic imagery from his canvases: blue skies, dense objects that hang weightless, solid surfaces revealed to be two-dimensional. Presumably to avoid tobacco, "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" does not appear, but cursive lettering ("This is not a hat") lines a hat-shaped fountain. Rather than magnify surrealism's sinister edge, Johnson focuses on its energy and borrows that exuberance for his own see-through pages. Ages 4-8. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Belgian painter Rene Magritte, cast here as a dog, sees in a shop window a marvelous hat that appears to float above his head. He buys the hat, and it floats above his head wherever he goes. The two play games, traipsing in and around the streets of Paris, and the hat proves to be substantial artistic inspiration as well. Rather than trying to explain the surreal, Johnson captures its essence, blurring the line between perception and imagination. As Magritte and his hat have their fun, we see and experience the city through the painter's originative eyes. Johnson's crisp, polished illustrations, filled with nods to the artist's iconic imagery, celebrate Magritte's clear, almost upbeat absurdity. Four acetate inserts, printed on both sides to transfigure the pages before and after, enhance the curious sense of wonder. This jovial, peculiar outing is both an accessible introduction to the painter and a winning, nonsensical adventure in its own right. An author's note offers more information about Magritte, his work, and the surrealist movement.--Barthelmess, Thom Copyright 2010 Booklist