Trompe l'Oeil of an Etching by Ferdinand Bol
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.The unknown author of this picture-within-a-picture hid his own identity, but not that of the signed and dated print he meticulously copied. The print reveals Dutch artist Ferdinand Bol’s debt to his teacher Rembrandt in the characterization of the old man and the etching technique, reproduced perfectly in paint. Fixed to the board by a blob of sealing wax, the print appears to curl toward the viewer, its illusionistic creases implying previous handling. The actual oak support that the painter used is concealed by his convincing imitation of pine.
Artwork Details
- Title: Trompe l'Oeil of an Etching by Ferdinand Bol
- Artist: Anonymous
- Date: c. 1675
- Medium: Oil on panel
- Dimensions: 14 3/4 × 12 3/8 in. (37.5 × 31.4 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Fund given in honor of Derald Ruttenberg’s Grandchildren (2016.3.1)
- Rights and Reproduction: Courtesy of National Gallery of Art, Washington
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art