John Haberle
John Haberle’s work is recognized for its sense of composition, illusion, and humor. He was a master of trompe l’oeil (French for “fool the eye”) still-life painting. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, to German parents, Haberle was apprenticed to a printing firm at a young age. There he developed skills as a lithographer, printmaker, and illustrator. Haberle later committed himself to trompe l’oeil painting, capturing the American imagination as a leading practitioner.
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The dimensions of this small painting depicting a writing slate make the representation life size, which makes the trompe l’oeil effect feel even more realistic. The text reads: “My last slate at Wavertown. FRED,” hinting at a bygone adolescent life. At the lower left, hovering over the artist’s own printed signature, is a crude stick figure–a schoolboy doodle–that underlines its vulgar distance from the “real” artist’s virtuosity and elevated status.
Museum purchase by exchange, gift of Miss F. M. Knowles, William K. Gutskow, Miss Keith Wakeman, and the M. H. de Young Endowment Fund
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