The Slate: Memoranda
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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.
\ Artist
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.
\ About
Oil on canvas
Museum purchase by exchange, gift of Miss F. M. Knowles, William K. Gutskow, Miss Keith Wakeman, and the M. H. de Young Endowment Fund