See also David Sylvester & Sarah Whitfield, René Magritte, Catalogue Raisonné, , vol. II, p. 427, n. 678 for the original cast.

Magritte's magical sculpture Les Menottes de Cuivre stands as one of the earliest and most compelling objects of Surrealism. Taking the ubiquitous Venus de Milo as a subject for subversion, Magritte charms and beguiles the viewer into re-evaluating the verity of any given object.

Discussing his representation of the Venus Magritte stated that 'the sudden absence of stone, where stone really exists, and the presence, however, of the form that the stone embodied, must necessarily evoke a sense of mystery. The 'nature' of such a statue would not thereby be made arbitrary or subject to a whim: it is necessary that it is flesh' (quoted in David Sylvester (ed)., Whitfield and Raeburn, Rene Magritte, Catalogue Raisonne, Gouaches, Temperas, Watercolours and Papier Colles 1918-1967, London 1994, vol. IV, p. 281).

The enigmatic title of this work was bestowed by the surrealist ringmaster André Breton following a request from Magritte to find a title that 'for me will be the kind of surprise I like most' (letter from Magritte to Breton, 19 March 1936). Breton obliged and responded 'I resign myself to suggesting a purely poetic title: 'The Copper handcuffs'. The main advantage, I think, is that it gives an additional colour to the object, but not arbitrarily, since copper is the metal corresponding to Venus' (letter from Breton to Magritte, 8 April 1936)

To be listed in the VIIth volume of the catalogue raisonné dedicated to editions.