Label TextThe highly detailed realism of this large scene of hunting tools, antlers, and dead game, belongs to a tradition in late nineteenth-century American art called trompe l’oeil painting. In French, the phrase means “Fool the eye.” Still lives like this delighted their viewers because their naturalism seemed to blur the lines between reality and representation.
Alexander Pope was originally better known as a painter of animals. After becoming aware of the success of trompe l’oeil paintings, he tried his hand at them. Sportsman’s Trophy reveals that he became a master at the tradition.
(William Keyse Rudolph, 2014)