Cubism and the trompe l'oeil tradition

Book

Cubism and the trompe l'oeil tradition / Emily Braun, Elizabeth Cowling ; with essays by Claire Le Thomas and Rachel Mustalish.

Braun, Emily, 1957- (author.). Cowling, Elizabeth, (author.). Le Thomas, Claire, (writer of supplementary textual content.). Mustalish, Rachel, (writer of supplementary textual content.). Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), (host institution.).

Record details

ISBN: 1588396762
ISBN: 9781588396761
Physical Description: 286 pages : illustrations (some color), portraits ; 28 cm
Publisher: New York : The Metropolitan Museum of Art, [2022]
Distributor: New Haven ; Distributed by Yale University Press
Copyright: ©2022

Content descriptions

General Note:	"This catalogue is published in conjunction with Cubism and the Trompe l'Oeil Tradition, on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, from October 20, 2022, through January 22, 2023."--Page [288].
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-277) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Director's foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Visual Mischief / Emily Braun -- For and against trompe l'oeil / Elizabeth Cowling -- The tricks of the trade : Georges Braque's artisanal origins / Claire Le Thomas -- Paper, patterns, and play : Juan Gris's materials and techniques / Rachel Mustalish -- Themes and variations / Emily Braun and Elizabeth Cowling -- Artists' biographies : sixteenth to nineteenth centuries / Lindsay Ganter and Sean O'Hanlan -- List of plates -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- Photograph credits.
Summary, etc.:	The age-old artistic tradition of pictorial illusionism, known as trompe l'oeil ("deceive the eye") beguiles us with visual tricks and confounds our perception of reality and fiction. Presenting a radically new take on Cubism, this book shows how Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Juan Gris parodied classic trompe l'oeil motifs and devices while inventing playful, original ways of challenging the viewer's perception. Insightful, handsomely illustrated essays explore connections between the Cubists and the trompe l'oeil artists of earlier centuries with whom they engaged in creative one-upmanship. Essays discuss the previously unstudied trompe l'oeil iconography within Cubist still lifes; the history of the trompe l'oeil genre and its changing status over the centuries; the materials and processes used in Gris's collages; Braque's grounding in trompe l'oeil interior decoration techniques; and more. Over one hundred illustrated works juxtapose Cubist paintings, drawings, and collages with related compositions by the old masters. This handsome volume, which reveals the surprising origins of some of Cubism's most recognized motifs, is essential reading for anyone interested in the development of modern art.