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Man Ray, Trompe l'œuf - Trompe l'œil, 1930-1963
Man Ray, Trompe l'œuf - Trompe l'œil, 1930-1963

Man Ray United States, 1890-1976

Trompe l'œuf - Trompe l'œil, 1930-1963
Bakelite, original photograph, wood, plexiglass
One of the 13 'Objects de mon Affection', as illustrated in the eponymous 1968 catalog.
Plexiglass:
60 x 50 x 8 cm
23 9/16 x 19 10/16 x 3 2/16 in
Copyright The Artist
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Trompe l’oeuf – Trompe l’oeil is a striking late assemblage from 1963 that combines a photograph of an ostrich egg with a Bakelite toilet seat. Framed on a blue background...
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Trompe l’oeuf – Trompe l’oeil is a striking late assemblage from 1963 that combines a photograph of an ostrich egg with a Bakelite toilet seat. Framed on a blue background inside a clear acrylic box, the piece merges photography, painting, and the readymade, showcasing Man Ray’s signature blend of visual wit and conceptual play.

The title is a clever pun that substitutes “oeuf” (egg) for “oeil” (eye) in the traditional trompe l’oeil technique, turning a classical illusion into a surreal joke. The egg’s surface, highlighted by careful lighting and close cropping, resembles the glazed interior of a toilet bowl, creating an uncanny and humorous tension that challenges how we perceive everyday objects.

Trompe l’oeuf was included in Man Ray’s 1945 exhibition Objects of My Affection, where he presented works that transformed ordinary items into poetic and provocative art. This assemblage embodies his belief that art is driven by ideas rather than craftsmanship, using surreal wit to destabilize expectations and explore the egg as a symbol of creation and artistic invention.
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Provenance

Artist Studio
Association Man Ray International

Exhibitions

Man Ray, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 1966
Salute to Man Ray, American Center, Paris, 1968
Man Ray, Museum Boymans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 1971
Man Ray, Musée national d’art Moderne, Paris, 1972
Man Ray Assemblages, galerie Marion Meyer, édition Ligne de Mire, 1990
Man Ray, 360 degrés de libertés, Château de Bagatelles, Bois de Boulogne, Paris, 1989
Man Ray, Exposition Caja Duero, Salamanque, Espagne, 2009
Man Ray, Musée des Beaux Arts de Bogota, Colombie, 2010
Das Ohr von Giacometti, galerie Levy, Hamburg, 2011

FROM MAN RAY TO MARIEN: An Idea of Surrealism, MARUANI MERCIER, Brussels (2021)


Literature

(selection) Man Ray, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 1966, page 134
Catalogue d’exposition Man Ray, LACMA, 1966, reproduit page 134
Man Ray, Objet de mon affection, édition Marcel Zerbib, Paris, 1968, reproduit.
Catalogue d’exposition Man Ray, Museum Boymans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 1971, reproduit page 91
Man Ray, Musée national d’art Moderne, Paris, 1972, reproduit page 91
Man Ray, Janus, édition Fratelli Fabbri, 1973, reproduit n°121
Man Ray, Objet de mon affection, edition Philippe Sers, Paris, 1983, reproduit page 117
Perpetual Motif, The Art of Man Ray, National Museum of American Art Smithsonian Institution, Abbeville presspublisher, 1988, reproduit n°203
Man Ray, édition Gallimard, Paris, 1989, reproduit page 241
Man Ray, 360 degrés de libertés, Château de Bagatelles, Bois de Boulogne, Paris, 1989, reproduit page 88
Catalogue d’exposition Man Ray Assemblages, galerie Marion Meyer, Paris, édition Ligne de Mire, 1990, reproduit n°37
Man Ray, Sein Gesamtwerk, edition Stemmle, Germany, 1990
Catalogue d’exposition Man Ray, Exposition Caja Duero, Salamanque, Espagne, 2009, reproduit page 34.
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