WILLIAM DANIELS is noted for his realistic trompe l’oeil recreations of well-known masterpieces of art history. He makes scale models of the original paintings out of everyday materials like paper, cardboard, and silver foil, which serve as the foundation for remarkably precise oil paintings. The small-scale paintings, which are identifiable but toned down and muted in colour, pose concerns of representation, verification, and authenticity. They are a still life as well as a replica of the original artwork.
Daniels investigates the transformative effects of reflected light on the object by modifying the colour of the environment in which the model is placed while retaining its core shape. As a consequence, in the painting, the object appears to take on a variety of identities. Despite the fact that the arrangement is artificial, the light is natural. The final image depicts a mixture of the artificial and the organic to make something that does not quite fit into either categorization.