The Son of Man is a painting by Belgian surrealist René Magritte. When analyzing this painting the observer can see a combination of colors, lines and shots that help define the deeper meaning behind what they initially interpreted. It is important to know which details to specifically pay attention to so you will get the full understanding of the image. Without research, you would not look at the subject in the painting and know immediately that he is the actual illustrator, making this a self-portrait. After looking more into René Magritte, I understood that he often uses himself or people surrounding him as his art. He connects with his labor deeply because they are all personal to him. At first glance, the objects surrounding Magritte look merely like an apple hovering over his face, an ocean and a cloudy sky standing in front of a small brick wall. After a more intense analyzation, these are only symbols for a deeper meaning. The man is walking away from eternity and walking forwards to worldly temptation.

In this painting, The Son of Man is only pictured from his waist up. There is some scenery visualized in the background categorizing this as a medium shot. Although medium shots are not as detailed as extreme close-ups, the image is still portraying some sort of personal intimacy to the illustrator. The man in the painting, René Magritte, is standing in front of a short wall. In the distance behind this wall, there is a cloudy sky and to our knowledge, an unending sea. If you look closely, you will see that the man’s left arm is turned backwards facing towards the water and sky. These details could be significant in determining the deeper meaning behind the painting. When attempting to decode a surrealists painting, it is often left up to the interpreter to understand for themselves what the painting means. There could be a variety of interpretations, yet one is made well-defined to me. The name Son of Man is biblical and the scenery behind the subject is, in a sense, eternal life. The apple obscuring Magritte’s face could be a symbol identified as temptation as stated in Genesis. As he is facing away from the eternity, he is being influenced by the world to continue down the wrong path. The man is obviously turned away from the “infinite”, yet his left arm remains facing it. This could be interpreted as a religious complication to decipher right from wrong. The wall dividing the man from the perpetual is only a symbol of many obstacles needed to be overcome in order to reach this eternity. These details are only visible because of the angle, or shot, the painting displays.

Magritte used a small variety of paints in order to widen his observers understanding about this particular painting. The painting has such a distinct literal meaning that if many colors were used, the viewer would be distracted and detached and no longer interpret the painting the same. In the distance behind the man, a soft blue color was used to create the vast, mysterious ocean. This could be interpreted as an “eternity” as earlier stated. It seems as if the water goes on forever, placing the man away from the religious elucidation. The color blue indicates stability and peace. In this case, Heaven is the ultimate goal, yet worldly temptations are drawing him away from that. The apple is green representing life and envy in a way that makes it seem the man is sinning, thus causing him to walk away from his peaceful eternity. The man is physically facing his temptations and sins. Magritte is wearing a black suit which may confuse the observer because it does not immediately match the overall painting. It seems as if he is overdressed for the portrait. The red tie represents desire in a way that shows the man is wanting to do what is right, yet worldly desires are holding him back. He is being controlled by these desires and fighting for strength as shown by his left arm turning away. The dark grey skies indicate mystery, practicality and balance. By making the sky dark, the portrait has an overall obscurer meaning. It seems as if the area behind Magritte needs to be avoided. The earth, in a way, lured the man away from facing his actual reality by giving off a gloomy feel. 

There are not many arguments pointing to the fact that Magritte used lines in his painting to support his deeper meaning, but one in particular caught my attention. Magritte painted the apple to not entirely cover the mans, or his own, face; but instead left his eye visible. The eye is looking forward to where temptation is inevitable. He is looking past the apple to his final destination. Magritte also paints the skies to where it meets the water as a line, causing us to be unsure where the sea ends. This supports the idea that the scenery is enigmatic. 

René Magritte uses a combination of lines, colors and shots to create a deeper analysis to his painting. When first observing the portrait, one would interpret the image as what is literally seen. After analyzing the painting, we see that this can be further interpreted as a man being lead down the wrong path and straying away from a heavenly, eternal life. At first glance, the painting’s meaning is often underestimated but when you take the time to actually analyze the true meaning of the piece, you find that it is much deeper than once appeared. 
