Preparatory Study for Untitled Panels

Artist / Maker Richard Haas ((American, b. 1936))

Date1986

MediumAcrylic on Linen

Dimensions22 x 48 in. (55.9 x 121.9 cm)

ClassificationsArt on Campus Preparatory Studies and Maquettes

Credit LineIn the Art on Campus Preparatory Studies and Maquette Collection, Christian Petersen Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberU86.445ab

Status

On view

Collections

Art on Campus Collection

Label TextThese indoor murals are located at the ends of long hallways in the Agronomy Building. As the viewer approaches these works, they appear to be windows overlooking the Iowa landscape. The method that Richard Haas used to achieve this effect is called trompe l'oeil. This is a French term meaning deception of the eye. The term is applied to a painting style that is so photographically realistic that it may trick the viewer into thinking the scene is real instead of painted. The illusion of the Agronomy Murals is created through the artist's incorporation of the images of the surrounding floor tiles, window moldings, and architectural pillars into the paintings. Of course the illusion is also enhanced by the artist's knowledge and use of perspective, natural color, and atmospheric effect. The ground floor mural displays a view of the rolling Iowa landscape on a sunny mid-summer day. The scenery is represented as if the viewer were looking out a ground floor window. The view includes many characteristic elements of the Iowa countryside such as fields of crops, farm buildings, and livestock. Included in the detail of the painting are the peaks of several of Iowa State's buildings. The view seen in the first floor mural conveys quite a different effect from the painting a floor below. The painted scene presents the Iowa countryside from a bird's-eye view. This Iowa landscape shows the farms and fields broken into patterns of different colored patches. One of the most striking features of the painting is the image of the thunderstorm being led across the plains by a swirling tornado or possibly a Cyclone.

Locations