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Illusionist, deceiving effects were intended by a number of 17th-century Dutch still-life painters with their 'paintings of paintings' where e.g. a curtain, draped aside, seems to be hanging in front of a painting. This genre of still-life was known as a 'betriegertje (little trickster).
Gijsbrechts' betriegertje is meant to lead the viewer astray by thinking that he ought to turn the picture the right way round. The scrap of paper with the number 36 on it gives the impression that this deceptive illusionist painting is actually meant for sale. It is therefore likely that the painting was originally put up at a sales exhibition as a practical joke. The salability which is associated with the picture probably also explains why it appears so abstract. At first sight, the painting certainly seems modern to today's viewer. However, it is not an abstract painting like Malevich's two-dimensional Suprematist colour configurations. The accurate rendering of the stretching frame and its borders, as well as the canvas, show that the basic intention is totally different: it is meant to emphasize plasticity, thus functioning as a substitute for a real object.
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