Artist:
Jefferson David Chalfant
(American, 1856 - 1931)
Which Is Which?
Medium: Oil on wood panel with printed paper
Date: ca. 1890
Dimensions:
3 5/8 × 5 3/8 in. (9.2 × 13.7 cm)
Accession number: 97.17
Label Copy:
Part of the artist’s intention in creating a trompe l’oeil still-life painting is to fool the viewer into thinking a painted object is real. In this painting, J.D. Chalfant challenges the viewer directly by including a real stamp next to its painted image. His title asks us to decide Which is Which? The illusion was so complete at the time the work was created that the owner of a similar painting by Chalfant wrote the following letter to the artist: "Dear Sir: I own a picture by you of two postage…stamps… I have forgotten which is the real stamp and which is the painted one and would feel obliged if you will kindly inform me which is the painted one." With the passage of time, the actual stamp in this painting has faded, making it easier to distinguish between the two.
Although Chalfant painted trompe l’oeil still lifes for four years, he produced only about a dozen known works due to his meticulous working methods. He turned to other genre subject matter at the end of the nineteenth century when still life lost popularity, and still later to portraiture.
Part of the artist’s intention in creating a trompe l’oeil still-life painting is to fool the viewer into thinking a painted object is real. In this painting, J.D. Chalfant challenges the viewer directly by including a real stamp next to its painted image. His title asks us to decide Which is Which? The illusion was so complete at the time the work was created that the owner of a similar painting by Chalfant wrote the following letter to the artist: "Dear Sir: I own a picture by you of two postage…stamps… I have forgotten which is the real stamp and which is the painted one and would feel obliged if you will kindly inform me which is the painted one." With the passage of time, the actual stamp in this painting has faded, making it easier to distinguish between the two.
Although Chalfant painted trompe l’oeil still lifes for four years, he produced only about a dozen known works due to his meticulous working methods. He turned to other genre subject matter at the end of the nineteenth century when still life lost popularity, and still later to portraiture.
Curatorial RemarksBorn in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Jefferson David Chalfant settled in Wilmington, Delaware and by 1883 opened a studio there. Like many still-life artists, he was inspired by William Michael Harnett's "trompe l' oeil" style and themes. The most notorious of Chalfant's compositions was his acclaimed painting of a one-dollar bill, "Perfect Counterfeit," created in 1888. Although painting copies of treasury notes presented a legal problem, the postage stamp proved a safe alternative. "Which is Which" features a genuine Lincoln four-cent stamp next to the painted one. (The actual stamp has faded over time, distinguishing it from the painted one.) The following inscription appears lower right in painted newspaper clipping:
"[…gen]uine. Mr. Chalfant
pasted a real stamp beside his painting
and asks, "Which is Which?"
Chalfant's meticulous working methods limited his output. Only a dozen or so "trompe l' oeil" works are known from his four years of working in this style. In addition to still life, Chalfant painted genre subjects and portraits. He exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia and the National Academy of Design in New York.
"[…gen]uine. Mr. Chalfant
pasted a real stamp beside his painting
and asks, "Which is Which?"
Chalfant's meticulous working methods limited his output. Only a dozen or so "trompe l' oeil" works are known from his four years of working in this style. In addition to still life, Chalfant painted genre subjects and portraits. He exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia and the National Academy of Design in New York.