Harnett - A Smoke Backstage, oil on canvas, 1877
Summary
A Smoke Backstage, oil on canvas painting by William Michael Harnett, 1877,
Honolulu Museum of Art
Native name
Honolulu Museum of Art
Location
Honolulu, USA
Coordinates
21° 18′ 14.76″ N, 157° 50′ 54.96″ W
Established
1922
Web page
honolulumuseum.org
Authority control
: Q128316
VIAF: 818145858110423022196
ISNI: 0000 0004 4661 5836
LCCN: n2013015284
NRHP: 72000415
GND: 1063109698
WorldCat
institution QS:P195,Q128316
, accession 3211.1
William Michael Harnett (1848–1892) was the most imitated and skillful still-life painter in late nineteenth-century America, celebrated for his many arrangements that pushed the art of trompe l’oeil (French for “fool the eye”) to its limits. While this complex composition may at first appear flat, it is full of depth and plasticity, emphasizing the tension between illusion and reality. The depicted hinged door is slightly ajar, and the humble objects hang on prominent nails, casting strong shadows. The instruments and torn sheet music for a popular Irish reel underline Harnett’s humorous sense of play as well as his Irish-American identity.
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