Cubism and the Trompe l''Oeil Tradition

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 loeil (deceive the eye), employs visual tricks that confound the viewers 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 loeil 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 loeil specialists of earlier centuries and their games of creative one-upmanship. The informed and engaging texts trace the changing status of trompe loeil over the centuries, reveal Braques training in artisanal trompe loeil techniques as an integral part of his Cubist practice, examine the materials used in Griss collages, and discuss the previously unstudied trompe loeil iconography within Cubist still lifesincluding 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, 2022January 22, 2023)
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