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Art Institute of Chicago

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William Michael Harnett — For Sunday's Dinner
William Michael Harnett

For Sunday's Dinner

1888

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.

Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions

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About this work

William Michael Harnett, For Sunday's Dinner, 1888

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.

Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
94.3 x 53.6 cm
Year
1888
Seen at
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Related themes

Modern, Unique Work, Painting, Oil on Canvas

More works by William Michael Harnett

Collected by

Art Institute of Chicago, Cleveland Museum of Art