15
11 Gabriel Gaspard Gresly (French, 1712-1756)
On a spur wood plank we see the ‘Almanch du solitaire anné 17’. It is hanging from a nail above a framed drawing depicting a sitting figure, and a fly. Below, a paper is hanging with folded corners depicting a drawing of a wooded river landscape signed ‘Perrelle’. This could be Gabriel Perelle (1604-1677) or one of his children Nicolas Perelle (1631-1695) or Adam Perelle (1640-1695), who were all French painters and engravers of topographic views and landscapes. A white quill pen has been slid under a partially torn corner of the paper which is fixed with red wax seals to the wooden plank. To the right, a fly crawls on the wooden plank. This trompe-l’œil deceives us as viewers by making us think that the painted objects are real. Numerous correspondences can be observed between the present trompe-l’œil and other works by the painter Gabriel Gaspard Gresly, several of these date from around 1740. First of all, we frequently see a somewhat battered ‘Almanach du solitaire décrépi’, hanging by a small cord from a nail fixed into a pinewood board marked with streaks and knots. In other trompe-l’œil compositions, engravings by Perelle likewise appear, attached to the board with red wax seals. Torn, crumpled, folded, or rumpled papers are likewise elements that emphasize the symbolism of vanity, while at the same time creating the illusion of a real physical presence. By seeming to detach themselves from the pictorial surface and project into the viewer’s space, these motifs create a pronounced sense of three-dimensionality, effectively substituting for a conventionally constructed perspective.
Spur wood plank with a trompe l’œil of an almanac, drawings, goose quill, red wax seal and a two flies oil on canvas, unframed, 47x36 cm
€5,000 - €7,000
Provenance: -Collection of the painter Louis Wijmans (1905-1994) since at least the 1950s, thence by descent to the present owner.
We are grateful to Dr Fred G. Meijer, who examined the painting first-hand, for confirming the attribution.
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