Cubism and the Trompe l'Oeil Tradition

All over the US and around the world great museums mount fantastic exhibitions I am unable to attend in person. But, since I am very familiar with the artists included in this group exhibition, this book helps me imagine the art in person. I am so thankful to own this book. What a splendid exhibition catalog this is!

I was struck, while carefully exploring this volume, by the fact that in a certain sense, it cannot work. You'd have to go to the actual exhibit to get the points made by the various writers. By necessity, all the visual examples printed in the book reduce the works to totally flat 2 dimensions. The texts rightly emphasize textures (of the paint, of the different objects in a trompe-l'oeil collage) and the obvious differences in reality between collage and paint, and so on, but the reader has to try to imagine these for oneself. There are frequent references to the use of mirrors or mirror fragments in the collages, but a flat illustration renders these as just more flat surfaces of a different color. I found the whole thing a noble enterprise, but ultimately disappointing because it can't deliver what the original works do. And yes, I realize that this is the case for any museum catalog vis-a-vis a trip to the museum. But it's much more blatant here. This is the equivalent of recorded concert music vs. attendance at a concert. I wish I could have seen the actual exhibit.

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