My Studio Door
John Frederick PETO
(American, 1854-1907)
My Studio Door
Date1895
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensionsoverall: 49 3/8 x 29 1/2 in. (125.4 x 74.9 cm)
frame: 58 1/4 × 38 × 3 1/2 in. (148 × 96.5 × 8.9 cm)
ClassificationPAINTINGS
Credit LineSBMA, Gift of Mrs. Sterling Morton to the Preston Morton Collection
Object number1960.76
Subject(s)
- musical instrument
- still lifes
Collection
- 19th century American
- American
Sub-Collection(s)
- Realism
- American
On View
Not on viewCollections
Label TextIn this unusually large still life, Peto amply demonstrates his illusionistic skills. Identified through an inscription on the back of the canvas, the painting depicts the door of the artist’s studio. The door is personalized, not by the trappings of his profession, but that of a typical outdoorsman, complete with a bone-handled bowie knife that, according to family legend, was a souvenir of the battle of Gettysburg, in which Peto’s father participated. Peto, a close emulator of still-life specialist, William Harnett (1848-1892), shows off his ability to distinguish shallow planes against the readymade plane of the trompe-l’oeil (French for ‘trick the eye’) ‘door’ using calculated tonal contrasts to establish the relative depth of the tangle of objects. The highlighted areas at the composition’s center are strategically positioned so that the bright white of the candle projects forcefully. Cast shadows and a subtle use of impasto on the metal hinges further distinguish the spatial relationship between the various still-life elements and their proximity to us.
1888