Violin and Bow
Artist: Jefferson D. Chalfant (American, 1856–1931)
Original Dimensions: 36" x 21 5/8"
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
About Artwork: (1889) "This work is a simplified repetition of a picture Chalfant had painted the previous year, "The Old Violin" (Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington), which itself depended on William Michael Harnett’s more complex painting of the same title (1886; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.). Here, Chalfant focused only on the fiddle, a popular nineteenth-century instrument, hanging with its bow against a background of silvery paneled wood. Chalfant’s precision and exactitude, as well as the extreme austerity of the composition and palette, give his trompe-l’oeil (“deceive the eye”) effects astonishing conviction and veracity." - (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

Panel content
Panel content