Trompe l’Oeil with Various Prints
Denis Pierre Jean Papillon de la Ferté French
Not on view
By copying the works and styles of other artists, image counterfeiters raised the question of “who is who?” as much as “which is which?” In this self-aggrandizing etching, however, all the prints proudly displayed “every which way” are Papillon de la Ferté’s own, and each extols his employer, the French king Louis XV, including an engraved portrait medallion and maps of the kingdom. The hand-colored floral-band pattern of the backdrop resembles wallpaper more than a tablecloth, accentuating the dual-directional reading. The lack of pins or tacks appending them to a vertical surface reinforces the appearance of papers lying on a table, even as we view them as a picture hanging on the wall.
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