Aphorismi Politici: Trompe l'Oeil with Posted Notices and Prints

Martin Cerulli · 1735/1765

Medium

Pen and black ink with brush and watercolor and gouache, over traces of graphite, on ivory laid paper, laid down on card

Original size

29.4 × 24.7 cm (11 5/8 × 9 3/4 in.)

Currently held

Art Institute of Chicago

Movement

Rococo

This meticulous trompe l'oeil conjures the illusion of a noticeboard scattered with overlapping papers, printed broadsides, and handwritten notices — a visual puzzle designed to fool the eye into mistaking art for reality. Martin Cerulli worked during a period when trompe l'oeil was both a technical showcase and a vehicle for wit, and this piece deploys the full range of his skills. The combination of pen and black ink, watercolor, and gouache on ivory laid paper allows him to capture the subtle curl of a paper edge, the shadow beneath a pinned notice, and the faded print of a broadside with convincing fragility. The title's reference to political aphorisms suggests the posted materials carry deliberate content — layering meaning beneath the visual trickery. Trompe l'oeil works of this kind were prized by collectors precisely because they demanded close looking: the closer you get, the more the illusion holds. Our hand-painted oil reproduction translates Cerulli's intricate layering of mark-making and wash into oils on canvas, preserving the textural richness and tonal subtlety that give the original its quiet authority — a piece that rewards the same careful attention the artist clearly intended.