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Artist
Charles Henry Theodore Costantini
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Born
1803
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Died
post 1860
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Title
Trompe l'oeil
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Date of Production
c.1847
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Medium
watercolour
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Dimensions
519 x 409 mm
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Credit Details
Purchased with assistance from the Caltex-Victorian Government Art Fund, 1980
Charles Henry Theodore Costantini
Trompe l'oeil
Born in Paris of Italian descent, Constantini was transported to
Australia twice - once to New South Wales in 1823 for forgery and
then to Van Diemen's Land in 1827 for stealing two £5 notes.
Granted a free certificate in 1834, Constantini is best known for
his portraits but he also produced this Trompe l'oeil that includes
many personal tokens: the artist's writing card, the dual
astrological signs under which he was born, an Italian landscape,
and cartoons.
The Trompe l' oeil or 'trick of the eye" style of painting was
used in Italy as early as the 15th Century and became a device that
demonstrated the artist's mastery of the laws of perspective as
well as his ability to replicate nature. A popular genre in both
Europe and America in the early 19th Century, this rare
Australian example could not have been executed before June 1847
because the two signatures on the Union Bank note were not used
before this date.