William Harnett (American, born Ireland, 1848(?)-1892) Music and Literature, 1878 Oil on canvas, 24 x 32 1/8" Gift of Seymour H. Knox, 1941

Still-life painting became very popular in the United States after the Civil War. Although it was never really recognized by critics as a high form of art or practiced by the leading artists of the time, many people purchased still lifes for their homes. Since William Harnett could not afford to pay human models, he used objects as his subject matter and was very popular for a type of still life known as "trompe l'oeil" (tromp loy), which is French for "fool the eye." This meant that the artist was attempting to fool the eye into believing that it was looking at actual objects, and not a painted representation of them.

In the Gallery's Music and Literature everything is painted extremely realistically, down to the smallest detail. Harnett was an expert at rendering textures: for example, the tattered and fragile music stained with age; the shine of an ebony-and-ivory flute; books with worn leather covers; the reflection of light on a brass candlestick; the translucency of a candle; and the shiny and matte sides of a red ribbon bookmark.

At first glance, the painting might seem to represent a clutter of objects that could be found in someone's home. However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that everything was carefully arranged. The open book is the central point of a semi-circular composition, and other elements were placed in relationship to it. Colors are distributed carefully as well: the red and yellow accents almost create semicircles themselves, while the blues and greens are also placed to lead the viewer's eye around the canvas.

There is more to this painting than simple artistic dexterity. Music and literature help to preserve the past, and Harnett specifically included Miguel Cervantes's early seventeenth-century novel Don Quixote and music (in the foreground) from the more recent opera La Traviata, written by Guiseppe Verdi in 1853. The music, however, is stained and torn, and the leather covers of the books worn with age. The flute is cracked and the candle almost completely burned down. All of these details add a note of melancholy to the painting, as it reminds viewers of the inevitable passage of time.

— Mariann Smith

SUGGESTIONS FOR HANDS-ON AND RELATED ACTIVITIES

• Have each student choose five or six objects. Ask them to draw each object individually in as much detail as possible (emphasize that they need to look carefully at each objectÛnot just draw what they think it looks like). Next have them arrange the objects in a still-life composition and draw the grouping.
• Ask students to think of objects that have two aspects (i.e. a candle that is lit and one that is unlit; an open door and a closed door). Compile a list of as many as possibleÛthis will require a lot of imagination! Make drawings of the pairs of objects and then come up with symbolic meanings for each aspect (i.e. an open door is inviting, a closed one is exclusionary). Have students cut words or phrases out of printed materials such as magazines or newspapers that relate to one side or the other and collage them on to the drawings. Add color and give the works titles.
• Have students design a still life for the 1990s, including objects that reflect the way we receive, use, and store information. Then have them build the still life and draw it. (When the class is drawing the still life, have them sit in a circle around it to gain a variety of viewpoints.)