In this work, O’Reilly contrasts images from two Baroque masters: Caravaggio and Velazquez, with drawings by Picasso to create a montage in which he examines and challenges traditional art historical tropes. The child and dog on the left are taken from Velazquez’s portrait of the Infante, Filipe Prospero. O’Reilly actually reproduces this image twice, covering the more faded version with the more saturated, “newer” looking image. The combination is subtle and nearly flawless except for a slight irregularity in the figure’s arm—evidence of O’Reilly’s hand in this historical painting. The young prince stands regal, stiff, frozen in time—becoming, along with the dog, a sort of still-life himself.

O’Reilly also includes two images of Caravaggio’s work, though in this case, they are taken from different paintings. The body of the lute player on the right is borrowed from Caravaggio’s early I Musici, while the green discs on what looks like the floor under Velazquez’s carpet, are actually an enlarged detail of the green chips on a table from Caravaggio’s masterpiece, The Calling of St. Matthew. By making a figure from one of Caravaggio’s earlier paintings so prominent, and incorporating such an obscure detail in one of his most celebrated works, O’Reilly subverts traditional art historical notions of importance and pride of place.
O’Reilly then replaces the head of Caravaggio’s lute player with a drawing by Picasso. By taking works by these famous artists, fragmenting them, and rearranging them in novel combinations, O’Reilly inserts himself in the history of art—challenging established conventions and reflecting on what it means to be an artist.