Trompe l'Oeil

ca. 1667-1673
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Correa was a pioneer of trompe l’oeil easel painting in Spain. This panel, which is one of a pair, is typically self-reflexive in depicting the artist’s paint-daubed palette, bottle of oil, and maulstick (used to support the hand holding the paintbrush). The battered prints Correa copied have been identified: a 1611 engraving of a farmyard with peacocks, based on a drawing by the Dutch painter Abraham Bloemaert, is nailed above an etching depicting a beggar, made about 1622 by the French artist Jacques Callot. The skull of a dog is both a studio prop and a reminder of mortality.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Trompe l'Oeil
  • Artist: Marcos Correa (Spanish, 1646–active until early 18th century)
  • Date: ca. 1667-1673
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 39 × 21 5/8 in. (99 × 55 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Hispanic Society of America, New York (A1845)
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art