Malraux, Andre

Please post your comments and suggestions for this article.

Comment by Derek Allan on February 7th, 2011 at 3:35 am

Your page on Malraux is quite good – better than the Wikipedia one which contains some oddities (which I have tried to remedy in some cases by small additions). But you say very little about Malraux’s books on art – which are not really ‘aesthetics’ but better described as a general theory of art.

Malraux wrote extensively about art. In sheer size, his works on the subject would certainly be larger than all his novels combined. I have placed a list of the major ones on the wiki site. I would suggest these be added to your site as well, and that you say a little more about this aspect of his work.

I hesitate to do a self-advertising thing, but you might also like to add my book on Malraux’s theory of art to your list of references. It is the only book in English on the subject. (This aspect of Malraux has been seriously overlooked by most Anglophone aestheticians.) The reference is: Derek Allan, ‘Art and the Human Adventure: André Malraux’s Theory of Art’ (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2009)

Thank you

Derek Allan

Comment by Jennifer Tanabe on February 7th, 2011 at 4:12 pm

Thank you for your feedback. Your book has been added to the references.

Your comment about Malraux’s theory of art is well taken and more will be added to the article on this aspect of his work.

Thank you again for your help in making New World Encyclopedia a valuable informational resource.

Comment by Derek Allan on February 8th, 2011 at 6:43 am

Dear Jennifer

Thank you for adding my book – and so promptly!

Not wanting to be a nuisance, I would suggest that at least the following group be added to your Malraux bibliography:

La Métamorphose des dieux 1957 (English translation: The Metamorphosis of the Gods, by Stuart Gilbert)
L’Irréel, 1974
L’Intemporel, 1976

These are major books on art and easily as important as ‘Les Voix du Silence’. They are really a series of three consecutive volumes, but it’s probably a bit complicated to explain that. (Malraux renamed the first one ‘Le Surnaturel’ to fit with the others, but that fact, I guess, is only likely to confuse your readers – and in bookshops it’s always known by its original name anyway.) The last two have not been translated into English yet and are not well known in Anglophone countries. But they are magnificent works and essential reading for anyone who wants to understand Malraux’s theory of art properly.)

Anyway, just a suggestion.

Best wishes

Derek Allan

Comment by Jennifer Tanabe on February 21st, 2011 at 5:43 pm

Thank you for your suggestion. That group of Malraux’s books on art have been added, as well as a short discussion on his theory of art – referring to your writings, hopefully accurately!

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