magritte

The Son of Man

I love this painting. I remember seeing it when I was in Art School in Houston. A friend and I were walking around Houston's art district when I saw a print of this painting. I remember identifying with it because when I paint, the hardest thing for me to replicate is a persons face and hands/feet. I had recently finished painting a full length picture of myself on canvas (not egocentric - introspective) and I had ended up placing my hands behind my back, feet in shoes instead of the normal flip-flops, and leaving my face entirely void of features. I wondered if maybe Magritte had the same problem and was so fed up with trying to get the face right that he just painted an apple over it in frustration. While not probable, it could be possible, it made perfect sense to me. Needless to say I really liked it and purchased it and eight years later it is still my favorite. It is on the wall to the right of me as I sit on my bed typing this. 

The secondary reason I have an affinity towards this painting is because after I had purchased it I ran across a movie on TV, The Thomas Crown Affair. It is an awesome movie, clever plot, great score, and the bonus of getting to watch Pierce Brosnan for 90 minutes. It was just on TNT again last week. It seems to be on TV every six months so if you have not seen it, keep your eye out for it.