rene magritte. attempting the impossible contains more than 300 works and also a lot of unpublished material. each chapter considers extensively a key work and depicts the intellectual and historical context that lead to the creation of both that work and the related paintings and drawings. 'as a result, this monograph is required reading for anyone seeking an initiation into the understanding of magritte. the abundant and original iconography is echoed in the arrangement of a text that, from chapter to chapter, sheds light on the work. the thematic approach makes it possible to deal with specific questions while sticking close to the works themselves' (michel draguet, general director of the royal museums of fine arts of belgium). siegfried gohr was born in 1949 and studied at cologne and tubingen. he was director of the museum ludwig in cologne and lectured in art history at karlsruhe university of arts and design. he currently has a chair at dusseldorf art academy, where he is also director of the akademie-galerie. he has published numerous books and articles on modern and contemporary artists, including monographs on pablo picasso and markus lupertz.