Benvenuto Tisi called Il Garofalo - Treasure Room Fresco - Google Art Project

''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic

optical illusion Within visual perception, an optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is an illusion caused by the visual system and characterized by a visual perception, percept that arguably appears to differ from reality. Illusions come in a wide v ...

of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into perceiving painted objects or spaces as real. Forced perspective is a related illusion in architecture.

History in painting

The phrase, which can also be spelled without the

hyphen The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. ''Son-in-law'' is an example of a hyphenated word. The hyphen is sometimes confused with dashes ( figur ...

and ligature in English as ''trompe l'oeil'', originates with the artist

Louis-Léopold Boilly Louis-Léopold Boilly (; 5 July 1761 – 4 January 1845) was a French painter and draftsman. A gifted creator of popular portrait paintings, he also produced a vast number of genre paintings vividly documenting French middle-class social life. His ...

, who used it as the title of a painting he exhibited in the

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

of 1800. Although the term gained currency only in the early 19th century, the illusionistic technique associated with ''trompe-l'œil'' dates much further back. It was (and is) often employed in

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s. Instances from Greek and Roman times are known, for instance in Pompeii. A typical ''trompe-l'œil'' mural might depict a window, door, or hallway, intended to suggest a larger room. A version of an oft-told

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

story concerns a contest between two renowned painters.

Zeuxis Zeuxis may refer to: * Zeuxis (general) (), Greek general * Zeuxis (painter) (), Greek painter * Zeuxis of Tarentum (), Greek physician * Zeuxis (wrestler) Zeuxis (born November 3, 1988) is a Puerto Rican ''luchadora enmascarada'', or masked ...

(born around 464 BC) produced a still life painting so convincing that birds flew down to peck at the painted grapes. A rival, Parrhasius, asked Zeuxis to judge one of his paintings that was behind a pair of tattered curtains in his study. Parrhasius asked Zeuxis to pull back the curtains, but when Zeuxis tried, he could not, as the curtains were included in Parrhasius's painting—making Parrhasius the winner. Colyer, Edwaert - Still Life - Google Art Project

Colyer, Edwaert - Still Life - Google Art Project

Perspective

A fascination with

perspective drawing Linear or point-projection perspective (from la, perspicere 'to see through') is one of two types of graphical projection perspective in the graphic arts; the other is parallel projection. Linear perspective is an approximate representation, ...

arose during the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

. But also

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/ Proto-Renaissance period. ...

began using perspective at the end of 1200 with the cycle of Assisi in Saint Francis stories. Many Italian painters of the late

Quattrocento The cultural and artistic events of Italy during the period 1400 to 1499 are collectively referred to as the Quattrocento (, , ) from the Italian word for the number 400, in turn from , which is Italian for the year 1400. The Quattrocento encom ...

, such as

Andrea Mantegna Andrea Mantegna (, , ; September 13, 1506) was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g. by lowering the horizon in ord ...

(1431–1506) and

Melozzo da Forlì Melozzo da Forlì (c. 1438 – 8 November 1494) was an Italian Renaissance painter and architect. His fresco paintings are notable for the use of foreshortening. He was the most important member of the Forlì painting school. Biography ...

(1438–1494), began painting illusionistic ceiling paintings, generally in fresco, that employed perspective and techniques such as

foreshortening Linear or point-projection perspective (from la, perspicere 'to see through') is one of two types of graphical projection perspective in the graphic arts; the other is parallel projection. Linear perspective is an approximate representation, ...

to create the impression of greater space for the viewer below. This type of ''trompe l'œil'' illusionism as specifically applied to ceiling paintings is known as '' di sotto in sù'', meaning "from below, upward" in Italian. The elements above the viewer are rendered as if viewed from true vanishing point perspective. Well-known examples are the

Camera degli Sposi The Camera degli Sposi ("bridal chamber"), sometimes known as the Camera picta ("painted chamber"), is a room frescoed with illusionistic paintings by Andrea Mantegna in the Ducal Palace, Mantua, Italy.. During the fifteenth century when the Came ...

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

and

Antonio da Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...

's (1489–1534) ''Assumption of the Virgin'' in the

Parma Cathedral Parma Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Parma; Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Parma, Emilia-Romagna (Italy), dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Parma. I ...

. Similarly, Vittorio Carpaccio (1460–1525) and Jacopo de' Barbari (c. 1440 – before 1516) added small trompe l'œil features to their paintings, playfully exploring the boundary between image and reality. For example, a painted fly might appear to be sitting on the painting's frame, or a curtain might appear to partly conceal the painting, a piece of paper might appear to be attached to a board, or a person might appear to be climbing out of the painting altogether—all in reference to the contest of Zeuxis and Parrhasius.

Quadratura

Escaping criticism-by pere borrel del caso

Perspective theories in the 17th century allowed a more fully integrated approach to architectural illusion, which when used by painters to "open up" the space of a wall or ceiling is known as ''

quadratura Illusionistic ceiling painting, which includes the techniques of perspective ''di sotto in sù'' and ''quadratura'', is the tradition in Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo art in which ''trompe-l'œil'', perspective tools such as foreshortening, a ...

''. Examples include

Pietro da Cortona Pietro da Cortona (; 1 November 1596 or 159716 May 1669) was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman ...

's ''Allegory of Divine Providence'' in the

Palazzo Barberini The Palazzo Barberini ( en, Barberini Palace) is a 17th-century palace in Rome, facing the Piazza Barberini in Rione Trevi. Today, it houses the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, the main national collection of older paintings in Rome. History ...

and

Andrea Pozzo Andrea Pozzo (; Latinized version: ''Andreas Puteus''; 30 November 1642 – 31 August 1709) was an Italian Jesuit brother, Baroque painter, architect, decorator, stage designer, and art theoretician. Pozzo was best known for his grandiose fr ...

's ''Apotheosis of St Ignatius'' on the ceiling of the Roman church of Sant'Ignazio in Campo Marzio. The

Mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...

and Baroque style interiors of Jesuit churches in the 16th and 17th centuries often included such ''trompe-l'œil'' ceiling paintings, which optically "open" the ceiling or dome to the heavens with a depiction of Jesus', Mary's, or a saint's ascension or assumption. An example of a perfect architectural ''trompe-l'œil'' is the illusionistic dome in the Jesuit church, Vienna, by

, which is only slightly curved, but gives the impression of true architecture. ''Trompe-l'œil'' paintings became very popular in Flemish and later in Dutch painting in the 17th century arising from the development of still life painting. The Flemish painter Cornelis Norbertus Gysbrechts created a chantourné painting showing an easel holding a painting. Chantourné literally means 'cutout' and refers to a trompe l'œil representation designed to stand away from a wall. The Dutch painter

Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten (2 August 1627, in Dordrecht – 19 October 1678, in Dordrecht) was a Dutch painter of the Golden Age, who was also a poet and author on art theory. Biography Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten trained first with his fat ...

was a master of the ''trompe-l'œil'' and theorized on the role of art as the lifelike imitation of nature in his 1678 book, the ''Introduction to the Academy of Painting, or the Visible World'' (''Inleyding tot de hooge schoole der schilderkonst: anders de zichtbaere werelt'', Rotterdam, 1678). A fanciful form of architectural ''trompe-l'œil'', quodlibet, features realistically rendered paintings of such items as paper knives, playing cards, ribbons, and scissors, apparently accidentally left lying around. ''Trompe-l'œil'' can also be found painted on tables and other items of furniture, on which, for example, a deck of playing cards might appear to be sitting on the table. A particularly impressive example can be seen at

Chatsworth House Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, north-east of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield, England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has belonged to the Cavendish family since 1549. It stands on the east bank of the ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...

, where one of the internal doors appears to have a violin and bow suspended from it, in a trompe l'œil painted around 1723 by Jan van der Vaart. Another example can be found in the Painted Hall at the

Old Royal Naval College The Old Royal Naval College is the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich, a World Heritage Site in Greenwich, London, described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as being of "outstandin ...

, Greenwich, London. This

Wren Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is commonl ...

building was painted by

Sir James Thornhill Sir James Thornhill (25 July 1675 or 1676 – 4 May 1734) was an English painter of historical subjects working in the Italian baroque tradition. He was responsible for some large-scale schemes of murals, including the "Painted Hall" at the R ...

, the first British born painter to be knighted and is a classic example of the Baroque style popular in the early 18th century. The American 19th-century still-life painter William Harnett specialized in ''trompe-l'œil''. In the 20th century, from the 1960s on, the American Richard Haas and many others painted large ''trompe-l'œil'' murals on the sides of city buildings, and from beginning of the 1980s when German Artist Rainer Maria Latzke began to combine classical fresco art with contemporary content ''trompe-l'œil'' became increasingly popular for interior murals. The Spanish painter

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in ...

utilized the technique for a number of his paintings.

In other art forms

''Trompe-l'œil'', in the form of " forced perspective", has long been used in stage-theater

set design Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly train ...

, so as to create the illusion of a much deeper space than the existing stage. A famous early example is the

Teatro Olimpico The Teatro Olimpico ("Olympic Theatre") is a theatre in Vicenza, northern Italy, constructed in 1580–1585. The theatre was the final design by the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio and was not completed until after his death. The ...

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the '' Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a t ...

, with

Vincenzo Scamozzi Vincenzo Scamozzi (2 September 1548 – 7 August 1616) was an Italian architect and a writer on architecture, active mainly in Vicenza and Republic of Venice area in the second half of the 16th century. He was perhaps the most important figure t ...

's seven forced-perspective "streets" (1585), which appear to recede into the distance. Fresco with Trompe l'oeuil - Andrea Pozzo -Jesuit Church Vienna

''Trompe-l'œil'' is employed in

Donald O'Connor Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule. His best ...

's famous "Running up the wall" scene in the film ''

Singin' in the Rain ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell and Cyd C ...

'' (1954). During the finale of his "Make 'em Laugh" number he first runs up a real wall. Then he runs towards what appears to be a hallway, but when he runs up this as well we realize that it is a large ''trompe-l'œil'' mural. More recently, Roy Andersson has made use of similar techniques in his feature films. Matte painting is a variant of ''trompe-l'œil'', and is used in film production with elements of a scene are painted on glass panels mounted in front of the camera.

Elsa Schiaparelli Elsa Schiaparelli ( , also , ; 10 September 1890 – 13 November 1973) was a fashion designer from an Italian aristocratic background. She created the house of Schiaparelli in Paris in 1927, which she managed from the 1930s to the 1950s. S ...

frequently made use of ''trompe-l'œil'' in her designs, most famously perhaps in her

Bowknot Sweater The shoelace knot, or bow knot, is commonly used for tying shoelaces and bow ties. The shoelace knot is a doubly slipped reef knot formed by joining the ends of whatever is being tied with a half hitch, folding each of the exposed ends into a ...

, which some consider to be the first use of ''trompe-l'œil'' in fashion. The

Tears Dress Tears are a clear liquid secreted by the lacrimal glands (tear gland) found in the eyes of all land mammals. Tears are made up of water, electrolytes, proteins, lipids, and mucins that form layers on the surface of eyes. The different types of ...

, which she did in collaboration with

, features both appliqué tears on the veil and ''tromp-l'œil'' tears on the dress itself. Fictional'' trompe-l'œil'' appears in many

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series '' Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. ...

, such as the

Road Runner cartoon Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical cartoon short ''Fast and Furry-ous''. In each episode, t ...

s, where, for example, Wile E. Coyote paints a tunnel on a rock wall, and the Road Runner then races through the fake tunnel. This is usually followed by the coyote's foolishly trying to run through the tunnel after the road runner, only to smash into the hard rock-face. This

sight gag In comedy, a visual gag or sight gag is anything which conveys its humour visually, often without words being used at all. The gag may involve a physical impossibility or an unexpected occurrence. The humor is caused by alternative interpretation ...

was employed in ''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American Live-action animated film, live-action/animated comedy film, comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall (filmmaker), Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely ad ...

''. In

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

's Near North Side, Richard Haas used a 16-story 1929 apartment hotel converted into a 1981 apartment building for ''trompe-l'œil'' murals in homage to Chicago school architecture. One of the building's sides features the

Chicago Board of Trade Building The Chicago Board of Trade Building is a 44-story, Art Deco skyscraper located in the Chicago Loop, standing at the foot of the LaSalle Street canyon. Built in 1930 for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), it has served as the primary trading ...

, intended as a reflection of the building located two miles south. Several contemporary artists use chalk on pavement or sidewalk to create ''trompe-l'œil'' works, a technique called

street painting Street painting, also known as screeving, pavement art, street art, and sidewalk art, is the performance art of rendering artistic designs on pavement such as streets, sidewalks, and town squares with impermanent and semi-permanent materials ...

or "pavement art". These creations last only until washed away, and therefore must be photographed to be preserved. Practitioners of this form include Julian Beever, Edgar Mueller, Leon Keer, and

Kurt Wenner Kurt Wenner is an American artist, he is known for his 3D pavement art shown internationally. Early life and education Wenner was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1958, but grew up in Santa Barbara, California. He attended Rhode Island School of ...

. The Palazzo Salis of

Tirano Tirano ( lmo, Tiràn, german: Thiran) is a town in Valtellina, located in the province of Sondrio in northern Italy. It has 9,053 inhabitants (2016) and is adjacent to the Switzerland-Italy border. The river Adda flows through the town. Main ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, has over centuries and throughout the palace used ''trompe l'œil'' in place of more expensive real masonry, doors, staircases, balconies, and draperies to create an illusion of sumptuousness and opulence. ''Trompe-l’œil'' in the form of illusion architecture and Lüftlmalerei is common on façades in the Alpine region. ''Trompe l'œil,'' in the form of "illusion painting", is also used in contemporary interior design, where illusionary wall paintings experienced a renaissance since around 1980. Significant artists in this field are the German muralist Rainer Maria Latzke, who invented, in the 1990s, a new method of producing illusion paintings,

frescography Frescography (from Latin ''fresco'' – ''painting onto "fresh" plaster'' + Greek ''graphein'' - to write) is a method for producing murals digitally on paper, canvas, glass or tiles, invented in 1998 by German muralist Rainer Maria Latzke. Fresc ...

, and the English artist Graham Rust.

OK Go OK Go is an American rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, now based in Los Angeles, California. The band is composed of Damian Kulash (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Nordwind (bass guitar and vocals), Dan Konopka (drums and percussion), an ...

's music video for " The Writing's on the Wall" uses a number of ''trompe-l'œil'' illusions alongside other optical illusions, captured through a one-shot take. ''Trompe-l'œil '' illusions have been used as gameplay mechanics in video games such as '' The Witness'' and ''

Superliminal ''Superliminal'' (previously ''Museum of Simulation Technology'') is a 2019 surreal puzzle video game released by Pillow Castle Games. The game, played from a first-person perspective, incorporates gameplay elements around optical illusions and ...

''. Japanese filmmaker and animator

Isao Takahata was a Japanese director, screenwriter and producer. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he earned international critical acclaim for his work as a director of Japanese animated feature films. Born in Ujiyamada, Mie Prefecture, Takahata joined Toei ...

regarded achieving a sense of ''trompe-l'œil'' to be important for his work, stating that an animated world should feel as if it "existed right there" so that "people believe in a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...

world and characters that no one has seen in reality." Tourists attractions employing large-scale illusory art allowing visitors to photograph themselves in fantastic scenes have opened in several Asian countries, such as the

Trickeye Museum Trickeye Museum Seoul is a gallery franchise with big wall paintings or installations, which contain AR (augmented reality) effect and/or 3D illusions. The company owner of the Trickeye Museum has developed special camera application in order to s ...

and Hong Kong 3D Museum. Recently a Trick Art Museum opened in Europe and uses more photographic approaches.

Artists

Tromp-l'oeil Still-Life 1664 Hoogstraeten

Old Masters In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

Cornelis Biltius Cornelis Biltius or Cornelius Biltius (The Hague, baptized 12 November 1653 – in or after 1686) was a Dutch still life painter originally from The Hague who worked in various locations in Germany. He was known for his ''trompe-l'œil'' still li ...

Jacob Biltius Jacob Biltius or Jacobus Biltius (The Hague, baptized 27 November 1633 – Bergen op Zoom, 8 February 1681) was a Dutch still life painter originally from The Hague who worked in various places including The Hague, Amsterdam, Maastricht, Antwerp, ...

Donato Bramante Donato Bramante ( , , ; 1444 – 11 April 1514), born as Donato di Pascuccio d'Antonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect and painter. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance styl ...

Petrus Christus Petrus Christus (; 1410/1420 – 1475/1476) was an Early Netherlandish painter active in Bruges from 1444, where, along with Hans Memling, he became the leading painter after the death of Jan van Eyck. He was influenced by van Eyck and Rogier ...

Carlo Crivelli Carlo Crivelli (Venice, c. 1430 – Ascoli Piceno, c. 1495) was an Italian Renaissance painter of conservative Late Gothic decorative sensibility, who spent his early years in the Veneto, where he absorbed influences from the Vivarin ...

Luca Giordano Luca Giordano (18 October 1634 – 3 January 1705) was an Italian late- Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples and Rome, Florence, and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain. Ea ...

* Cornelis Norbertus Gysbrechts * Franciscus Gijsbrechts *

Masaccio Masaccio (, , ; December 21, 1401 – summer 1428), born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone, was a Florentine artist who is regarded as the first great Italian painter of the Quattrocento period of the Italian Renaissance. According to Vasar ...

*Jean-Francois de la Motte *

Charles Willson Peale Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 – February 22, 1827) was an American painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolution, and ...

Jacobus Plasschaert Jacobus Plasschaert or Jacob Plasschaert, spelling variation of name Plasgaert (c. 1689 – 21 November 1765 in Bruges) was a Flemish people, Flemish painter and teacher.Andrea Pozzo Andrea Pozzo (; Latinized version: ''Andreas Puteus''; 30 November 1642 – 31 August 1709) was an Italian Jesuit brother, Baroque painter, architect, decorator, stage designer, and art theoretician. Pozzo was best known for his grandiose fr ...

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Giovanni Battista Tiepolo ( , ; March 5, 1696 – March 27, 1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an impor ...

19th century and modern masters * Henry Alexander * Aaron Bohrod *

* Walter Goodman *

John Haberle John Haberle (1856–1933) was an American painter in the '' trompe-l'œil'' (literally, "fool the eye") style. His still lifes of ordinary objects are painted in such a way that the painting can be mistaken for the objects themselves. He is consid ...

* William Harnett * Claude Raguet Hirst *

René Magritte René François Ghislain Magritte (; 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature and bounda ...

* John F. Peto Contemporary * Ellen Altfest *

Martin Battersby George Martin Battersby (12February 19143April 1982)"Martin Battersby: A Biography" by Philippe Garner in ''The Decorative Twenties'', New York: Walker & Co., 1969, pp. 7–21. was a British ''trompe-l'œil'' artist and theatrical set decorator w ...

* Julian Beever *

Daniela Benedini Daniela Benedini (born May 24, 1972, in Desio, Italy) is an Italian contemporary painter and decorator who is specialized in the use of the ''trompe-l'œil''. Artistic background Daniela Benedini studied painting at Brera Academy of Milan, Ital ...

* Henri Bol *

Henri Cadiou Henri Cadiou (26 March 1906, Paris – 6 April 1989) was a French realist painter and lithographer, best known for his work in ''trompe-l'œil'' paintings. He is credited with being a founder of the ''l’école de la réalité'' in 1949 (now ca ...

* Dan Colen * Piero Fornasetti *

Ronald Francis Ron Francis is an artist who paints in a ''trompe-l'œil'' style. He was born Ronald Malcolm Francis in Stanmore, Sydney, Australia in September 1954. In 1974 he moved to Melbourne, Australia where he exhibited with Profile Gallery and lat ...

* Joanne Gair *

Frederic Gracia Frederic may refer to: Places United States * Frederic, Wisconsin, a village in Polk County * Frederic Township, Michigan, a township in Crawford County ** Frederic, Michigan, an unincorporated community Other uses * Frederic (band), a Japanese r ...

* Richard Haas * Jonty Hurwitz *

Lorena Kloosterboer Lorena Kloosterboer is a Dutch-Argentine artist (born Alkmaar Netherlands, 1962) who paints using trompe-l'œil and photorealistic styles, often creating the illusion of three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface. She is best known fo ...

* Rainer Maria Latzke *

Attila Meszlenyi Meszlényi Attila (born 2 May 1954 in Budapest) is an ecological writer, painter, animated film director, musician, and composer. His work as a painter and thinker is dominated by the theme of nature and our relation to it. Attila Meszlényi h ...

* István Orosz (

Utisz Outis (a transliteration of the Ancient Greek pronoun = "nobody" or "no one") is an often used pseudonym that appeared famously in Classical Greek legends. Modern artists, writers, and others in public life have adopted the use of this pseudonym in ...

) * Os Gêmeos, "The Twins" *

Jacques Poirier Jacques Poirier (1928–2002) was a French master painter who lived in Paris near Saint-Germain-des-Prés. His mother was a painteso he claimed with irony that he always sniffed turpentine between breastfeeds. He joined the École Supérieure des ...

Susan Powers Susan Powers (born 1954 in Glen Cove, New York) is a self-taught American artist. Education Powers attended the University of Vermont, where she studied classical languages and medieval history, graduating in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts de ...

* John Pugh * Pierre-Marie Rudelle * Graham Rust *

Anthony Waichulis Anthony Waichulis (born 1972) is a contemporary ''trompe-l'œil'' painter from rural Northeastern Pennsylvania. Celebrated by critics and collectors alike, Waichulis' works have been published in many major art publications including ''The Artis ...

* Tavar Zawacki

Paintings

File:Jan van Eyck 054-096.jpg, '' The Annunciation Diptych'' by Jan van Eyck, detail (c. 1433–1435) File:Christus carthusian.jpg, '' Portrait of a Carthusian'' by

(1446). Note the fly near the bottom. File:Jacopo de' Barbari 001.jpg, ''

Still-Life with Partridge and Gauntlets ''Still-Life with Partridge and Gauntlets'' is a 1504 painting by the Italian painter Jacopo de' Barbari. It measures and is held by the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. The small oil-on-limewood-panel painting is considered to be one of the earlie ...

'' by Jacopo de' Barbari, 1504. The first still-life trompe l'œil since antiquity File:Hungarian - Trompe-l'Oeil Stem of a Maltese Cross - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Trompe-l'Oeil stem of a Maltese Cross'' (1561) by

Joris Hoefnagel Joris Hoefnagel or Georg Hoefnagel (1542, in Antwerp – 24 July 1601, in Vienna) was a Flemish painter, printmaker, miniaturist, draftsman and merchant. He is noted for his illustrations of natural history subjects, topographical views, ...

File:Gerard Houckgeest 002.jpg, ''Church interior'' by Gerard Houckgeest (c. 1654) File:Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts - Trompe l’oeil Studio Wall with a Vanitas Still Life.jpg, ''Trompe l’oeil Studio Wall with a Vanitas Still Life'', Cornelis Norbertus Gijsbrechts, 1664 File:Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts - Trompe l'oeil. The Reverse of a Framed Painting - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The reverse of a framed painting'' by Cornelis Norbertus Gijsbrechts, 1670 File:Cornelis Biltius - Trompe l'oeil with a bird cage.jpg, ''Trompe l'oeil with a bird cage'',

, 1680s File:Jean-François de Le Motte. Trompe-l'oeil.jpg, ''Trompe-l'oeil'', Jean-François de Le Motte, 1680-1700 File:Nicola van Houbraken - Self-portrait.jpg, ''Portrait of François Rivière'' by

Nicola van Houbraken Nicola or Nicolino or Niccolino van Houbraken, also known as Nicolino Vanderbrach da Messina and Nicola Messinese (1660 – 1723) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque who was of Flemish descent. He specialized in paintings depicting playfu ...

, c. 1700 File:Carl Hofverberg - Trompe l´oeil 1737 - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Trompe l´oeil 1737'' by Carl Hofverberg File:Jacobus Plasschaert - A 'trompe l'oeil' of a wooden panelling with a painted canvas of a landscape 'capriccio', a pile of prints with a repetition of the painted subject, an almanach, sealed letters.jpg, ''Trompe l'oeil of a wooden panelling with a painted canvas and print of a landscape capriccio'',

Jacobus Plasschaert Jacobus Plasschaert or Jacob Plasschaert, spelling variation of name Plasgaert (c. 1689 – 21 November 1765 in Bruges) was a Flemish people, Flemish painter and teacher.Henry Fuseli Henry Fuseli ( ; German: Johann Heinrich Füssli ; 7 February 1741 – 17 April 1825) was a Swiss painter, draughtsman and writer on art who spent much of his life in Britain. Many of his works, such as '' The Nightmare'', deal with supernatu ...

, 1750 File:Antonio Pérez de Aguilar - Cupboard - Google Art Project.jpg, Antonio Pérez de Aguilar, ''Cupboard'', c. 1769,

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of ch ...

File:Paris louvre boilly trompe l'oeil.jpg, ''Trompe l'œil dit aux dessins et aux savoyards'' by

, c. 1804–1807 File:William Michael Harnett 001.jpg, ''The Faithful Colt'' 1890 by William Michael Harnett File:Char side vieuw.jpg, ''Char de la Ville'' (photographed 2006) - the "sculpture" is a flat cutout File:Theodor Pištěk, Josef N., (1978).jpg, Theodor Pištěk, Josef N., (1978), Art Library Project File:Ceiling piece with birds, by Abraham Busschop.jpg, Ceiling piece with birds by

Abraham Busschop Abraham Busschop or Abraham Bisschop (1670, Dordrecht – 1729, Middelburg), was an 18th-century painter from the Northern Netherlands. Biography According to Houbraken he was the son of the Cornelis Bisschop and the brother of Jacobus.

, 1708

Murals

File:Théâtre Saint-Georges1.jpg, Complete anamorphosis of the frontage of the Saint-Georges Theatre Image:Mantegna.jpg, Oculus on the ceiling of the Spouses Chamber, castle of San Giorgio in

, by

File:Brivio.church.cupola.jpg, ''Trompe-l'œil'' cupola in the church of Brivio, Italy File:Marolles1 (4889175932).jpg, Painted windows, Rue de l'Épée/Zwaard,

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Image:Le_pigeon.jpg, A ''trompe-l'œil'' of a pigeon on a window sill, façade mural, rue Emile Lepeu in the

11th arrondissement of Paris The 11th arrondissement of Paris (''XIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''onzième''. The arrondissement, called Popincourt, is situated on ...

, France Image:SchwetzingenSchlossgarten.jpg, Mural in

Schwetzingen Schwetzingen (; pfl, Schwetzinge) is a German town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, around southwest of Heidelberg and southeast of Mannheim. Schwetzingen is one of the five biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district and a medium-size ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

(the view "through" the wall at the end) Image:Lyon, Trompe d'oeil at night.jpg, A ''trompe-l'œil'' in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Image:utmural.jpg, Bronze Statues ''trompe-l'œil'' in Mt. Pleasant, Utah Image:Chateau Thal Entrance to library.jpg, Architectural wall and ceiling ''trompe-l'œil'', Entrance to the library of Chateau Thal, by Rainer Maria Latzke Image:Trompe lóeil Villa Paradou.jpg, Painted Trompe l'œil mosaic, floor in the Villa Paradou in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, by Rainer Maria Latzke File:LA founding historical mural.jpg, Los Angeles Plaza Historic District: mural off Alameda Street File:John Pugh's mural on a façade of Taylor Hall at California State University at Chico can easily cause double-takes LCCN2013631111.tif, Conceptual ''trompe-l'œil'' mural at

California State University, Chico California State University, Chico, or commonly, Chico State, is a public university in Chico, California. Founded in 1887, it is the second oldest campus in the California State University system. As of the fall 2020 semester, the university had ...

titled "Academe", featuring Doric columns and crumbling walls, by John Pugh

Sculptures

Image:Bankfield Museum 035.jpg, 19th-century marble bust with apparently transparent veil, Bankfield Museum, Halifax,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exis ...

. Image:Bankfield Museum 036.jpg, The same bust seen in profile. The effect is consistent from all angles and from close up. Image:Magic_carpet_mosaic_fountain.jpg, A modern ''trompe-l'œil'' mosaic fountain at Brighton, in the form of a carpet thrown over marble steps. Image:La tombe de Rudolf Noureev (Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois) (8351663480).jpg, Tomb of

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...

draped in a mosaic oriental carpet sculpture.

Architecture

Image:Forced perspective gallery by Francesco Borromini.jpg, Architectural ''trompe-l'œil'' in the Palazzo Spada,

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, by Francesco Borromini Image:BiellaDuomo.jpg, The interior of the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

Biella Biella (; pms, Biela; la, Bugella) is a city and ''comune'' in the northern Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the province of the same name, with a population of 44,324 as of 31 December 2017. It is located about northeast of Turin an ...

(

) is considered a masterpiece of ''trompe-l'œil'' File:SanSatiroInteriors.jpg, The interior of

Santa Maria presso San Satiro Santa Maria presso San Satiro (Saint Mary near Saint Satyrus) is a church in Milan. The Italian Renaissance structure (1476-1482) houses the early medieval shrine to Satyrus, brother of Saint Ambrose. The church is known for its false apse, ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

viewed from the nave File:SanSatiroInteriors3_crop.jpg, The trompe l'œil choir at Santa Maria presso San Satiro, by

, viewed from the side File:Chateau_Tanlay_galerie_trompe-l-oeil.jpg, Gallery painted in ''trompe-l'œil'' in the Château de Tanlay, France File:Interior of Teatro Olimpico (Vicenza)- Scaenae frons close-up - La porta regia.jpg, Detail of the forced perspective stage scenery of the

, as viewed through the ''porta reggia'' of the ''scaenae frons'',

, northern Italy File:Painted Hall.jpg, The

Painted Hall The Old Royal Naval College is the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich, a World Heritage Site in Greenwich, London, described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as being of "outstanding ...

at the

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwic ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, designed by

Sir Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 church ...

and

Nicholas Hawksmoor Nicholas Hawksmoor (probably 1661 – 25 March 1736) was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the princip ...

. The paintings by

comprise architectural trompes l'œil; for instance, the Corinthian columns look

fluted Fluting may refer to: * Fluting (architecture) * Fluting (firearms) *Fluting (geology) * Fluting (glacial) *Fluting (paper) Arts, entertainment, and media *Fluting on the Hump See also *Flute (disambiguation) A flute is a musical instrument. ...

whilst the far wall depicts

pilasters In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall ...

and an

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

. In practice none of these elements exist in the third dimension File:Henry G. Marquand House Conservatory Stained Glass Window.jpg, 19th-century stained-glass window made for the Henry Gurdon Marquand's mansion in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Use in films

*''

'' (1952) *''

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1971 American musical fantasy film directed by Mel Stuart and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. It is an adaptation of the 1964 novel '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' by Roald Dahl. The f ...

'' (1971) *''

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' is a 1989 American action film, action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third installment in the Indiana Jones, ''Indiana ...

'' (1989) *'' Where the Heart Is'' (1990) *'' Millennium Actress'' (2001) *''

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (also simply known as ''Eternal Sunshine'') is a 2004 American romantic science fiction drama film written by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Michel Gondry, and starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. Pie ...

'' (2004) *''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typi ...

'' (2005) * ''Westworld'' (Season 1, Episode 7) (2016)

Notes

External links

''Deceptions and Illusions''
National Gallery of Art exhibition on ''Trompe-l'œil'' paintings
''Trompe l'œil Tricks: Borges' Baroque Illusionism''
essay by Lois Parkinson Zamora comparing ''trompe-l'œil'' to the literature of Borges
Custom trompe l'œil Paintings
Fresco Blog
murals.trompe-l-oeil.info
, More than 10 000 pictures and 1200 Outdoor murals of France and Europe

Avenue George V. Text and photography by Catherine-Alice Palagret
“The Mechanics of the Art World,” ''Vistas: Visual Culture in Spanish America, 1520-1820.''Trick Art Museum: Magic World Museum Barcelona
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trompe-L'oil Visual arts genres Architectural elements Artistic techniques Painting techniques Optical illusions Decorative arts Composition in visual art