1: Return to Trompe l'Oeil, with Borrell
Pere Borrell del Caso
Escaping Criticism ('Fugint de la Critica' in Spanish), 1874Oil on canvas, w134 cm x h111 cm (52.8" x 43.7")
Bank of Spain (Banco de España) headquarters, Madrid, Spain
Trompe l'oeil, bless its heart. So simple, so fun, so pointless in the wrong (right?) hands.
But happily, once again I can say with at least 60% confidence that the featured work does have a reason for being the way that it is: in this case, the visual trickery is part of the artist's promotion of realism over romanticism, except instead of being pedantic or whiny or wheedling about it he found a way to make the case for realism stand on its own (ahem).
This illusion (and all trompe l'oeil1) works by being very aware of the position of the viewer, and specifically by lowering all the viewer's barriers to entry in viewing the work. In other words, trompe l'oeil pieces make sure that You the Viewer don't have to picture yourself in a theater box, out in a field, or on a boat; you just be you, standing where you are, and the work does the rest. This is a lot of what makes well-done trompe l'oeil so shocking — as viewers we're used to having to put in some imaginative effort to enter an artwork, so when an artwork instead intrudes on our reality, the effect is ever so slightly aggressive and pretty exhilarating. (And taken on its own, sure it's a cheap rush, but lots of fun things are.)
In the above piece, the sense of intrusion on the viewer's reality is pretty overt. Boy is emerging from a framed picture that would be meant to hang on a wall, giving the overall suggestion that he's escaping the 'art' world and entering the world of reality. And, given his posture and expression, the viewer who glimpses this painting (especially from some distance, like across a hall, and/or out the side of their eye) would have the discomfiting sensation of 'catching' the boy in the act of escape.
NOTES:
1. I say 'all', but that needs some immediate walking back. The portability of small canvas and panel works get us used to thinking about artwork that can be lugged around and viewed anywhere without that causing a significant change in the viewing experience, but many trompe l'oeil works (most of the murals, for instance) were/are created for a highly specific location, and rely on that location in order to function properly. The rest of the points above still apply, it's just that the 'barriers to entry' mentioned are lowered for all viewers who come across that location.
But happily, once again I can say with at least 60% confidence that the featured work does have a reason for being the way that it is: in this case, the visual trickery is part of the artist's promotion of realism over romanticism, except instead of being pedantic or whiny or wheedling about it he found a way to make the case for realism stand on its own (ahem).
This illusion (and all trompe l'oeil1) works by being very aware of the position of the viewer, and specifically by lowering all the viewer's barriers to entry in viewing the work. In other words, trompe l'oeil pieces make sure that You the Viewer don't have to picture yourself in a theater box, out in a field, or on a boat; you just be you, standing where you are, and the work does the rest. This is a lot of what makes well-done trompe l'oeil so shocking — as viewers we're used to having to put in some imaginative effort to enter an artwork, so when an artwork instead intrudes on our reality, the effect is ever so slightly aggressive and pretty exhilarating. (And taken on its own, sure it's a cheap rush, but lots of fun things are.)
In the above piece, the sense of intrusion on the viewer's reality is pretty overt. Boy is emerging from a framed picture that would be meant to hang on a wall, giving the overall suggestion that he's escaping the 'art' world and entering the world of reality. And, given his posture and expression, the viewer who glimpses this painting (especially from some distance, like across a hall, and/or out the side of their eye) would have the discomfiting sensation of 'catching' the boy in the act of escape.
NOTES:
1. I say 'all', but that needs some immediate walking back. The portability of small canvas and panel works get us used to thinking about artwork that can be lugged around and viewed anywhere without that causing a significant change in the viewing experience, but many trompe l'oeil works (most of the murals, for instance) were/are created for a highly specific location, and rely on that location in order to function properly. The rest of the points above still apply, it's just that the 'barriers to entry' mentioned are lowered for all viewers who come across that location.