The Reverse of a Framed Painting

The Reverse of a Framed Painting
Artist	Cornelius Norbertus Gysbrechts
Year	1670
Medium	Oil on Canvas
Dimensions	66,4 x 87 cm
Location	Statens Museum for Kunst

The Reverse of a Framed Painting (in Danish: Bagsiden af et indrammet maleri) is a still life trompe-l'œil painting by Flemish painter Cornelius Norbertus Gysbrechts, made in 1670,[1] when the artist was working as the official painter of the Danish royal court. The painting is commonly considered a masterpiece of trompe-l'œil painting[2] for it's deceptively sculptural representation of the back of a framed painting in a canvas.

The work has already been called as "the most radical meditation about painting as an object and as an image",[3] and is interpreted as an early example of conceptual art.[4]

History

The first bibliographic reference mentioning the existence of the painting was the inventory of 1 August 1674 of the Kunstkammer of the royal family of Denmark, during the reign of Christian V of Denmark, although it is believed that this was a commission of the former king, Frederick III of Denmark, since he had interest in collectionism[5] and, especially, in Flemish painting, which could have led him to hire Cornelius Gysbrechts for the position of royal court painter.

Technique

The original approach of the trompe-l'œil technique on the work, at the time, allowed the viewer to see it as an object of curiosity, suitable to be shown in a Kunstkammer, such as the intention of the painter. In order to reinforece its illusion, the painting was supposedly exhibited leaning on the entrance hall of the Royal Danish Kunstkammer,[6] suggesting the idea that the painting was just a frame, yet to be hung up. Even today, the painting is exhibited in this way at the Statens Museum for Kunst.

Bibliography

Hein, Jorgen e Peter Kristiansen. Rosenborg Castle: a guide to the danish collection. Copenhagen: Rosenborg, 1999.

Schifferer, Sybille Ebert. Deceptions and Illusions: Five Centuries of Trompe L'Oeil Painting. London: Lund Humphries, 2003.

Anderberg, Brigitte [et al.]. SMK Highlights: Statens Museum for Kunst. Copenhagen: Statens Museum for Kunst, 2008.

References

Gammelbo, Poul (1960). Dutch Still-Life Painting from the 16th to the 18th centuries in Danish collections. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
Hollmann, Eckhard (2004). A Trick Of The Eye: Trompe L'oeil Masterpieces. Munich: Prestel Publishing.
Stoichita, Victor (2019). A Instauração do Quadro: Metapintura nos Inícios dos Tempos Modernos. Lisboa: KKYM. p. 334.
Lenain, Thierry (1984). Le dernier tableau de Marcel Duchamp: du trompe-l'oeil au regard désabusé. pp. 87–102.
Koester, Olaf (2000). Flemish Paintings 1600–1800. Statens Museum for Kunst. p. 9.
"The Reverse of a Framed Painting, 1670". SMK – National Gallery of Denmark in Copenhagen (Statens Museum for Kunst). 2018-07-02. Retrieved 2021-01-21.

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[1] Gammelbo, Poul (1960). Dutch Still-Life Painting from the 16th to the 18th centuries in Danish collections. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.

[2] Hollmann, Eckhard (2004). A Trick Of The Eye: Trompe L'oeil Masterpieces. Munich: Prestel Publishing.

[3] Stoichita, Victor (2019). A Instauração do Quadro: Metapintura nos Inícios dos Tempos Modernos. Lisboa: KKYM. p. 334.

[4] Lenain, Thierry (1984). Le dernier tableau de Marcel Duchamp: du trompe-l'oeil au regard désabusé. pp. 87–102.

[5] Koester, Olaf (2000). Flemish Paintings 1600–1800. Statens Museum for Kunst. p. 9.

[6] "The Reverse of a Framed Painting, 1670". SMK – National Gallery of Denmark in Copenhagen (Statens Museum for Kunst). 2018-07-02. Retrieved 2021-01-21.