The Son of a man by Rene Magritte 1946
“Everything we see hides another thing. And we always want to see what is hidden by what we see.” -Magritte
No matter how much we try, one cannot fully understand about another person.
Many people believe son of man is a self portrait of Magritte himself. However, viewers cannot confirm if it is or not as the green apple hides character’s facial features.
The meaning of an apple is open for individual interpretation. Some believe it’s the tempting forbidden fruit from the story of Adam and Eve. Where although a man is aware of the consequences eating the forbidden fruit but still his temptation stood higher than his moral ethics. The apple is an ironic object that reveals and conceals man’s true nature. It hides character’s real identity yet also reveals he has something to hide.
At the first glance viewers are driven to glance at the apple, the red tie and the bowler hat. But for all that a well dressed character can be seen out in the shore standing tall. The height of a man cannot be determined as audience is unable to pin down his waist. It seems like Magritte wanted a character to be a general man who signifies every human being. If analysed properly viewers can see his left arm is facing towards the ocean. Where a dark cloud looms over the the sky but oceans are yet calm which could signify a…
