The Violin

Braque meticulously reproduced a type of engraved-metal nameplate, with tiny screws at the edges, that had devolved into a trite vehicle for product branding. A typical example is seen in the lower right of the image reproduced here, featuring a painter-decorator marbling a wall, one of a series of collectible cards advertising Trébucien coffee and chocolate. Braque likely chose this popular signature device over more rarified forms to chafe at the professional hierarchies that separated artisanal painters from “fine” artists. The frankly fake nameplate nonetheless functions as a sign of genuine authorship. That the raised areas of paint, sawdust, and wood particles appear to be cut outs collaged onto the surface is pure trompe l’oeil.

Image caption: “Le peintre décorateur” (The painter-decorator). Card advertising Trébucien, “Chocolat des Gourmets,” ca. 1900. Chromolithograph. Mucem, Marseilles