Painted eye trick - Samuel van Hoogstraten's trompe-l'œil still life
7 November 2024
Lecture by Claudia Koch, Head of the Picture Gallery Collection of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
(in German language)
The trompe-l'œil still life by Samuel van Hoogstraten from 1655 is a major work in the Picture Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. There are references to the painter's life and work in the objects depicted.
Emperor Ferdinand III had Hoogstraten proclaimed the new Zeuxis for his illusionist, eye-deceiving painting. But what purpose did the painter pursue with this and similar paintings? And how can these works be adequately presented in museums today?