The Son of Man is an oil on canvas self portrait painted by Belgian Surrealist Rene Magritte in 1964. It is 116 x 89 cm.
In the painting there is a man, Magritte, in a black overcoat and a bowler hat. These articles of clothing are what he would normally wear. He is standing in front of a short stone wall, behind which is an ominous mixture of a cloudy sky and a foggy sea. Obscuring the man's face is an inconveniently placed green apple. The edges of the man's eyes are visible from behind the apple. Magritte says that our burning desire to find out what lies behind the apple reveals something about human nature. We have an insatiable desire to figure out the obscure and unknown. Also unusual is the fact that the mans left arm appears to be put on backwards, his elbow visibly pushing the cloth from the front.
This painting resembles many other versions of this painting by Magritte. A less ominous version of the painting The Great War on Facades showplaces a woman standing in the same place in a white dress and umbrella in which a flower is obscuring her face.
Also Man in a Bowler Hat is a close up of this painting, except with a bird obscuring the man's face rather than a flower.
Sources
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vopj2s2wkWw
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Son_of_Man
http://www.rene-magritte.org/the-son-of-man.jsp
http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/rene-magritte/son-of-man-1964
http://totallyhistory.com/the-son-of-man/
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