John Haberle
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John Haberle (1856–1933) was an American painter in the ''
trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...
'' (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 considered one of the three major figures—together with
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 Gr ...
and John F. Peto—practicing this form of still life painting in the United States in the last quarter of the 19th century.


Early life and training

Haberle was born in 1856 in
New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
,
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
, and was the son of Swabian immigrants. At the age of 14 he left school to apprentice with an engraver. He also worked for many years as an illustrator and exhibit preparator for the
Peabody Museum of Natural History The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University is among the oldest, largest, and most prolific university natural history museums in the world. It was founded by the philanthropist George Peabody in 1866 at the behest of his nephew Oth ...
at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
, working under the supervision of the paleontologist
Othniel Charles Marsh Othniel Charles Marsh (October 29, 1831 – March 18, 1899) was an American professor of Paleontology in Yale College and President of the National Academy of Sciences. He was one of the preeminent scientists in the field of paleontology. Among ...
. Haberle began taking classes at the
National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the f ...
in New York City in 1884, where he first encountered ''
trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...
'' painting.


Career

Haberle's style is characterized by a meticulous rendering of two-dimensional objects. He is especially noted for his depictions of paper objects, including
currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general ...
. Art historian
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 ...
has contrasted Haberle's work with that of his contemporaries:
Peto is moved by the pathos of used-up things. Haberle is wry and wacky, full of bravado, self-congratulating virtuosity, and sly flamboyance. He works largely within an old tradition, that of the ''
trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...
'' still life in painted line ... It is poles away from Harnett's sumptuosity, careful balances, and well-modeled volumes, and is equally far from Peto's sensitivity in matters of tone and hue.
''A Bachelor's Drawer'' (1890–1894) is typical of his approach: various papers, including currency, postage stamps, photos, playing cards, tickets, and newspaper clippings, are shown affixed to an essentially
planar Planar is an adjective meaning "relating to a plane (geometry)". Planar may also refer to: Science and technology * Planar (computer graphics), computer graphics pixel information from several bitplanes * Planar (transmission line technologies), ...
surface. Other objects—eyeglasses, a comb, a pipe, matches, and so on—are shallow enough in volume so as not to spoil the illusion. Like Harnett, he was warned by the
Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...
to cease and desist painting paper money, but he continued to do so throughout his years of greatest productivity; examples include ''The Changes of Time'' (1888) and ''Can You Break a Five?'' (c. 1885). He painted other subjects such as ''Slate'' (c. 1895), a bin of peanuts in ''Fresh Roasted'' (1887), ''The Clay Pipe'' (1889), and the huge ''Grandma's Hearthstone'' (1890), in the collection of the
Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation and expansion project comple ...
. Over the course of his career, Haberle exhibited work at art institutions such as the National Academy of Design in New York and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Due to the popular appeal of Haberle's style and subject matter, his work was also shown in venues not conventionally known for displaying art, such as bookstores, saloons, liquor stores, and hotels. By 1893, eye problems caused Haberle to move away from making detailed work, although he continued to paint. Among his later works are paintings of flowers executed in a looser style, and in 1909 he painted his final ''trompe-l'œil'', the large ''Night'', in the collection of the
New Britain Museum of American Art The New Britain Museum of American Art is an art museum in New Britain, Connecticut. Founded in 1903, it is the first museum in the country dedicated to American art. A total of 72,000 visits were made to the museum in the year ending June 30, 200 ...
, New Britain, Connecticut. Haberle died in 1933 in New Haven, Connecticut, and was then interred at New Haven's Evergreen Cemetery.


Notes


References

*Frankenstein, Alfred (1970). ''The Reality of Appearance''. Greenwich: New York Graphic Society. *Gertrude Grace Sill (2009). ''John Haberle. American Master of Illusion''. New Britain Museum of Art.


External links


Biography, National Gallery of Art''American paintings and historical prints from the Middendorf collection''
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Haberle (no. 47) {{DEFAULTSORT:Haberle, John 19th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American painters 1856 births 1933 deaths Artists from New Haven, Connecticut Painters from Connecticut Yale University staff American people of Swiss descent American still life painters Trompe-l'œil artists 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists