Trompe l'oeil. The Reverse of a Framed Painting 1668 - 1672
corneliusnorbertusgijsbrechts
statensmuseumforkunst
canvas
aged paper
toned paper
water colours
possibly oil pastel
canvas
carved into stone
stoneware
underpainting
painting painterly
watercolour bleed
watercolor
Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts' "Trompe l'oeil. The Reverse of a Framed Painting" (1668-1672), is a trompe l'oeil artwork depicting the back of a framed painting. The artwork is a study in illusionism, as Gijsbrechts masterfully recreates the textures and details of the wooden frame and the canvas, complete with a label and tacks. This work is an example of Gijsbrechts' fascination with the mechanics of painting and the illusionary potential of art, a common theme in 17th-century Dutch art. This painting can be found at the SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst.
Comments
When viewed from a distance we are genuinely fooled into believing that the artist has left a painting standing on the floor with its back turned outwards. As you approach the painting its deception is revealed. What appeared to be the back of a framed painting is actually the front of a canvas. The deception is evoked by means of shadows: the shadows cast by the decorative frame onto the stretcher; the shadows cast by the stretcher onto the back of the canvas, and the shadows cast by the small note and the nails. In order for the deception to fully work the painting should be placed so that its faux shadows are in keeping with the light sources available in the room in which it is placed. With its ability to surprise and cheat spectators this work was eminently well suited to a cabinet of curiosities, or "kunstkammer". This “Back of a Painting" was presumably painted for the entry room of the Royal Danish Kunstkammer, the so-called Perspective Chamber. Gijsbrechts was court artist to the Danish king during the period 1668-72.
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The eye is certainly deceived. From a distance you truly be-lieve that the artist has put down a painting on the floor with its reverse facing out-wards. As you approach it, you realise the deception. We are facing one of the few works of art in the world to have two backs. With its ability to surprise and mislead spectators this work was an obvious choice for a ‘kunstkammer’ (cabinet of cu-riosities). The easel also on display in this room is de-scribed in the first inventory list of The Royal Danish Kun-stkammer as ‘a fruit piece with artist’s paraphernalia painted in perspective.’ Back then the Kunstkammer was still housed at the Copenha-gen Palace, but when the King set up a new Kunstkammer the work became part of the so-called Perspektivkammer. ‘Reverse’ was presumably part of the Easel.
With the absence of the frame that traditionally serves as the architectural transition between the spectator’s reality and the picture’s painted universe, this work by the Flemish painter Gijsbrechts is moving beyond the usual realms of art and into the illusionistic domains of the stage. The deception of the eye is certainly there. When viewing the picture from afar, we are truly cheated into believing that the artist has left a painting behind on the floor with its reverse facing outwards. With its ability to surprise and deceive the spectators, this work was eminently qualified to be part of the royal Kunstkammer. Another cutout - showing an easel bearing a still life and the reverse of a painting standing at its foot, the actual panel cut out to follow the contours of the objects painted on it - is described in the Royal DanishCabinet of Curiosities’ first inventory from 1674 as: "A stand with painter’s paraphernalia painted on perspective." Back then the cabinet of curiosities was still housed at the Copenhagen Castle, but a few years later when the monarch set up the cabinet in a new building, the present-day Danish National Archives, the easel became part of the décor of the entrance hall where it was presumably joined by The Reverse of a Framed Painting.
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