A pioneering study of how Picasso, Braque, and Gris engaged with the
pictorial tradition of illusion and deception in their influential
Cubist works
The age-old tradition of pictorial illusionism, known as trompe l'oeil
("deceive the eye"), employs visual tricks that confound the viewer's
perception of reality and fiction, truth and falsehood. This radically
new take on Cubism shows how Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Juan
Gris both parodied and paid homage to classic trompe l'oeil themes and
motifs with wit and invention. More than one hundred illustrated works
juxtapose Cubist paintings, drawings, and collages with related
compositions by the old masters. Essays based on new research explore
connections between the Cubists and the trompe l'oeil specialists of
earlier centuries and their games of creative one-upmanship. The
informed and engaging texts trace the changing status of trompe l'oeil
over the centuries, reveal Braque's training in artisanal trompe l'oeil
techniques as an integral part of his Cubist practice, examine the
materials used in Gris's collages, and discuss the previously unstudied
trompe l'oeil iconography within Cubist still lifes--including
newspapers, word puns, pictures-within-pictures, imitation wood grain,
and tools of the trade.
Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale
University Press
Exhibition Schedule:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
(October 20, 2022-January 22, 2023)
