John Frederick Peto (May 21, 1854 – November 23, 1907) was an American '' trompe-l'œil'' ("fool the eye")

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

who was long forgotten until his paintings were rediscovered along with those of fellow ''trompe-l'œil'' artist

William Harnett William Michael Harnett (August 10, 1848 – October 29, 1892) was an Irish- American painter known for his trompe-l'œil still lifes of ordinary objects. Early life Harnett was born in Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland during the time of the G ...

Career

Although Peto and the slightly older Harnett knew each other and painted similar subjects, their careers followed different paths. Peto was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts at the same time as Harnett. Until he was in his mid-thirties, he submitted paintings regularly to the annual exhibitions at the Philadelphia Academy. In 1889, he moved to the resort town of

Island Heights, New Jersey Island Heights is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 1,673,cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

at the town's camp revival meetings, and he supplemented his income by selling his paintings to tourists. He never had a gallery exhibition in his lifetime. Harnett, on the other hand, achieved success and had considerable influence on other artists painting in the '' trompe-l'œil'' genre, but even his paintings were given the snub by critics as mere novelty and trickery. Both artists were masters of ''trompe-l'œil'', a genre of still life that aims to deceive the viewer into mistaking painted objects for reality. Exploiting the fallibility of human perception, the ''trompe-l'œil'' painter depicts objects in accordance with a set of rules unique to the genre. For example, Peto and Harnett both represented the objects in their paintings at their actual size, and the objects rarely were cut off by the edge of the painting, as this would allow a visual cue to the viewer that the depiction was not real. But the main technical device was to arrange the subject matter in a shallow space, using the shadow of the objects to suggest depth without the eye seeing actual depth. Thus the term ''trompe-l'œil''—"fool the eye". Both artists enthrall the viewer with a disturbing but pleasant sense of confusion. Peto's paintings, generally considered less technically skilled than Harnett's, are more abstract, use more unusual color, and often have a stronger emotional resonance. Peto's mature works have an opaque and powdery texture which is often compared to

Chardin Chardin is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, (1699–1779), French painter noted for his still life works * Jean Chardin, (1643–1713), French jeweller and traveller, author of ''The Trave ...

. The subject matter of Peto's paintings consisted of the most ordinary of things: pistols, horseshoes, bits of paper, keys, books, and the like. He frequently painted old time "letter racks", which were a kind of board that used ribbons tacked into a square that held notes, letters, pencils, and photographs. Many of Peto's paintings reinterpret themes Harnett had painted earlier, but Peto's compositions are less formal and his objects are typically rustier, more worn, less expensive looking. Other artists who practiced ''trompe-l'œil'' in the late nineteenth century include

John Haberle John Haberle (1856–1933) was an American painter in the ''trompe-l'œil'' (literally, "fool the eye") style. His still lifes of ordinary objects are painted in such a way that the painting can be mistaken for the objects themselves. He is conside ...

and

Jefferson David Chalfant Jefferson David Chalfant (November 6, 1856 – February 3, 1931) was an American painter who is remembered mostly for his ''trompe-l'œil'' still life paintings. Biography Chalfant was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, but moved in youn ...

Otis Kaye Otis Kaye (1885–1974) was an American artist during the early 20th century. He is noted especially for ''trompe-l'œil'' paintings of U.S. currency. Life and work Otis Kaye carried on the ''trompe-l'œil'' tradition of William Harnett, ...

followed several decades later. ISLAND HEIGHTS HIST

A pioneering study of Peto and Harnett is

Alfred Frankenstein Alfred Victor Frankenstein (October 5, 1906 – June 22, 1981) was an art and music critic, author, and professional musician. He was the long-time art and music critic for the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' from 1934 to 1965. He was noted for champ ...

's ''After the Hunt, William Harnett and Other American Still Life Painters 1870-1900''. Frankenstein's book itself is a fantastic tale of solving the mystery of why these artists were forgotten for much of the twentieth century.

John F. Peto Studio Museum

The John F. Peto Studio Museum preserves the artist's house and studio in

Island Heights, New Jersey Island Heights is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 1,673,Abbey Ryan Abbey Ryan (born 1979, New Jersey) is a contemporary American painter and educator, best known for her representational, classical realism still life and ''trompe-l'œil'' paintings. Her work is inspired by 17th century Dutch still life paintin ...

also teaches an annual professional painting workshop at the John F. Peto Studio Museum.

Gallery

Image:John-Peto-001.jpg, ''Still Life with Mug, Pipe and Book'' (1899) Image:John Peto - Candlestick, Pipe, and Tobacco Box.jpg, ''Candlestick, Pipe, and Tobacco Box'' (c. 1890) File:John Frederick Peto - Take Your Choice.jpg, ''Take Your Choice'' (1885) File:John Frederick Peto - Reminiscences of 1865 - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Reminiscences of 1865'' (1901)

Notes

References

*Frankenstein, Alfred (1970). ''The Reality of Appearance''. Greenwich: New York Graphic Society. *Schwartz, Sanford (1990). ''Artists and Writers''. New York: Yarrow Press. *Wilmerding, John (1983).''Important Information Inside''. New York: Harper & Row.

External links

John F. Peto Studio Museum
- official site
Peto Gallery at MuseumSyndicateJohn Frederick Peto And Peto Family Papers Online at the Smithsonian Archives of American Art''American paintings & historical prints from the Middendorf collection''
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Peto (no. 45) {{DEFAULTSORT:Peto, John F. 1854 births 1907 deaths 19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists American male painters 20th-century American painters People from Island Heights, New Jersey American still life painters Artists from New Jersey Artists from Philadelphia Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alumni Trompe-l'œil artists 20th-century American male artists