…or how Arcimboldo, Raetz and especially Dali played with their images, and us…

The king and benefactor – Arcimboldo

Art has always been about interpretation, but some artists have tried to go even further by deliberately placing references or optical illusions in their images, a sort of treasure hunt if you will.

Arcimboldo is the most obvious example, with his bodies and heads made up of fruit and vegetables, but many other artists through the ages have played with visual perception and this new exhibition shows nearly 250 works – painting, drawings and etchings, but also scultures and films – building on and expanding a 203 German exhibition on the same subject.

Portrait d’Isabelle Styler-Tas (Mélancolie), Salvador Dali – Berlin, Nationalgalerie © Salvador Dali, Fondation Gala-Salvador Dali © Adagp, 2009 © BPK, Berlin, Dist RMN – Jörg Anders

Fun, enigmatic and seomtimes even erotic, the exhibition shows that in many great workd of art are hidden a multitude of meanings.

The exhibition « One Image May Hide Another » (Une image peut en cacher une autre) is at the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais (map here) from 7th April – 6th July 2009. Open every day except Tuesdays from 10am – 8pm (10pm Wednesdays). Admission 11€/8€. Audioguide en English 5€ (download 3€).

More information about the exhibition here.