A Bachelor's Drawer
John Haberle American
This is the last and among the largest of Haberle’s humorous trompe-l’oeil (French for "fool the eye") still lifes. Arranged against a simulated drawer front and rendered with remarkable precision are the intimate souvenirs of a bachelor’s freedom, including theater stubs, playing cards, and "girlie" photographs. Other items—including a pamphlet entitled "How To Name the Baby" and a cartoon of a dyspeptic infant—signal the end of premarital life for men. Haberle’s self-portrait, in a simulated tintype at the bottom edge of the canvas, which functions as a signature, suggests that the narrative is autobiographical.
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