The mask actually appears to perform almost the opposite function of its usual purpose - where on human figures, masks and other elements remove any possibility of identification, and thereby remove some of the humanity of the subject, here the masked apple is lent a suspicion of impossible humanity by its mask. Magritte probably took the title from Barbey d'Aureville's book Le Prêtre Marié.

The masked apple originally appeared in Magritte's work as the design for a cover for an edition of View, published in December 1946.

Credit: Design for the Cover of 'View' Magazine, New York, 1946 (gouache on paper) by Magritte, Rene (1898-1967)