William Michael Harnett (American, born Ireland, 1848–1892)
For Sunday's Dinner
INV-1113
William Michael Harnett (American, born Ireland, 1848–1892)1888
For Sunday's Dinner
William Michael Harnett (American, born Ireland, 1848–1892) →Realismpaintingamerican arts
Date
1888
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
94.3 × 53.6 cm (37 1/8 × 21 1/8 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Wilson L. Mead Fund
Still-life painter William Michael Harnett excelled at trompe l’oeil, painting that fools the eye, through realistic depiction. In For Sunday’s Dinner, a chicken hangs in front of a painted door with its throat cut and most of its feathers plucked; a few remaining downy spots stand out against the puckered, pimpled flesh. The metal door hinges, on the right side of the canvas, frame the chicken and echo its form. The painting’s title and the rough, blemished surface of the door suggest a country dinner, the homey meal evoking nostalgia for a simpler past.
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