Trompe-l'oeil; Letter Rack with a Pocket Violin and a Pistol
Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts
1664
Step back, because you might just try to pull that heavy green velvet curtain right off the wall! Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts was a master of trompe-l'oeil, a Baroque technique designed to literally 'deceive the eye' into seeing three-dimensional reality on a flat canvas. Here, he playfully pins a chaotic collection of 17th-century clutter—including a pocket violin, a flintlock pistol, and scattered letters—onto a wooden letter rack, creating an illusion so convincing it feels like you could reach out and grab the almanac. It's a brilliant, cheeky reminder from 1664 that seeing isn't always believing.
Location: National Gallery, London