A green apple with leafy stems dons a mask and, by doing so, appears as an animated inanimate object with distinctly human qualities in René Magritte Le Prêtre Marié (The Married Priest), 1960. A common motif throughout Magritte's work, the apple appears with a sense of liveliness and personality, placed in a new and unexpected context by the artist. While a mask is usually worn to hide one's identity, it here appears to give an identity to the subject. The apple appears as though gazing out at us despite the fact that, as an apple, it does not have any eyes. Magritte likely drew the title from Barbey d'Aureville's book Le Prêtre Marié, though the significance of the title in relationship to this work is up to one's own interpretation. A married priest would defy the laws of religion just as a masked apple appears to defy the nature of the apple itself; fruit is not supposed to have "human" characteristics, yet the apple appears very much alive in this work.

This patinated bronze sculpture was created in 2010 after the original 1960 painting by René Magritte (Lessines, 1898 - Brussels, 1967) of the same title. This work is numbered from the edition of 150 and stamp signed 'Magritte' on the back of the apple. Published by the Magritte Foundation and cast at Fonderie Paumelle, France, this piece is also stamp signed by the Magritte Foundation and Fonderie Paumelle, France on the back of the apple.

Documented and Illustrated In:

1. Certificate of Authenticity signed by Charly Herscovici, President of the Magritte Foundation, included with the purchase of this work.
2. Meuris, Jacques. Magritte. London: Greenwich Editions, 1988. Similar painting from which this work is derived illustrated and discussed on pg. 156.