The Voices of Silence: Man and His Art. (Abridged from the Psychology of Art)

It's a long time since I re-read this work. Recently, for work, I've needed to dip into it. The insights fly from the pages. In fact the pages themselves fly from the volume I have as its far from the quality production such a collection warrants: a museum without covers?? Whatever, Malraux's insightful gems often lose directional thread in his impestuous, rambling style. He's what once was termed an aesthete, rather than a scholar. So don't go looking for deep analytic appraisals of particular works or of an artist or culture. And his insights presume you are acquainted with the subject under discussion. If you have a reasonable grounding in the visual arts, the book will provide revelations. The TV series made in his Paris flat in the 1970s is much better at getting a grip on the man.

This is a profound work. It contains six - hundred representations of artistic work that Malraux builds his commentry around. The language is philosophical and poetic and often very difficult. The work is divided into four sections. Museum Without Walls, The Metamorphoses of Appolo, the Creative Process, Aftermath of the Absolute.

Malraux is a genius (even though he's French.) I was blown away by his artistic precision in "Man's Fate" and I am no less enthused about this work. Although a bit long-winded at times, Andre has done it again. A man for the next century as well as the last. Bravo!