Seeing Is Believing.. . . or Is It?

Is this a painting or a collage?

Believe it or not, it is a painting. Were you fooled? Artist John F. Peto (1854–1907) might have confused you with his "trompe l'oeil" technique. Trompe l'oeil is a French term that means "trick the eye." It describes two-dimensional paintings that give the appearance of being three-dimensional.

Born in Philadelphia, Peto was a master of illusion. His famous "rack pictures," originally painted to decorate offices, appear to be bulletin boards, cluttered with personal mementos such as a photograph, scraps of paper, news clippings, and envelopes.

Source: Matthew Baigell. Dictionary of American Art (New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1979).

Pictured: John F. Peto, 1854–1907, Rack Picture for William Malcolm Bunn, 1882, oil, 24 x 20 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Nathaly Baum in memory of Harry Baum.