The Apple in Art: From Dürer to Oldenburg

An article on Artribune explores the symbolic and artistic significance of the apple in Western art, tracing its presence from Baroque painting to contemporary sculpture. The apple's Latin name 'malum' links it to evil, and in Baroque symbolism, a skeleton holding an apple represents death as a consequence of transgression. Albrecht Dürer's 1507 diptych 'Adam and Eve' features two apples, one covering Adam's genitals. René Magritte's 1964 'The Son of Man' obscures a man's face with a green apple, playing with visibility and concealment. Bartolomeo Bimbi's 1696 still life depicts 151 apples of various colors and varieties, commissioned by Cosimo III de' Medici. Jiří Kolár created collages of fake apples using clippings, stamps, and maps. Michelangelo Pistoletto's 'La Mela Reintegrata' symbolizes the reunion of artificial and natural worlds. Claes Oldenburg's 1992 'Apple Core' presents a large sculptural core, the only work showing a bitten apple. The article is by Carlo and Aldo Spinelli, published in Artribune Magazine #31.