"Cubism is a radical artistic movement (...), the most innovative of the 20th century. But what we have discovered is that (Georges) Braque, (Pablo) Picasso and (Juan) Gris", its initiators , "were in direct dialogue with old masters from the 16th century to the end of the 19th century", explains to AFP the co-curator of the exhibition, Emily Braun, professor of art history at Hunter College in New York.

The most striking sign of this inspiration is found through a painting of a violin and sheet music found in the 17th century Flemish painter Cornelis Norbertus Gijsbrechts, then in the American William Harnett (1848-1892) and finally in Braque and Picasso in a much more unstructured way.

Each work in its own way gives an illusion of perspective using the trompe-l'oeil technique.

Braque and Picasso were known to play with newspaper extracts in their paintings and collages to question the notion of truth.

"You will see in this exhibition trompe-l'oeil still lifes from the end of the 17th century, in which newspapers, among the first printed newspapers, are already present", continues Emily Braun.

According to her, "with the invention of the printed press (in the 17th century, editor's note), opinions, editorialization, information are part of everyday life, and people are beginning to question their veracity".

Visitors in front of works using the technique of trompe l'oeil, October 17 during the press presentation of the exhibition "Cubism and the tradition of trompe l'oeil" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York Ed JONES AFP

The "Cubism and the Trompe-l'oeil Tradition" exhibition, which opens Thursday, features around 100 works from the Met and museums around the world as well as private collections.

The Met Museum is thus participating in the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Pablo Picasso (in 1973 in Mougins, in the south of France), which must mobilize many cultural institutions in Europe and the United States.

"It's a way of saying something new about Picasso, we've never seen his work in this way before. The way he plays with us and with representation is part of this old tradition" of trompe-l eye, adds the co-curator.

© 2022 AFP