Trompe l'oeil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Trompe-l'œil (pronounced as "trum ploy"), literally meaning "trick the eye" in French, is an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create optical illusions.
Although the phrase has its origin in the Baroque period, use of trompe-l'œil dates back much further. It was (and is) often employed in murals, and some instances are known from Pompeii. For example, rooms might be optically enlarged by painting windows, doors or hallways on walls.
Trompe-l'œil can also be found painted on tables and other items of furniture, where it may look like cards in a game which is being played out, but in reality the eye is being tricked with an image.
With the superior understanding of perspective drawing achieved in the Renaissance, painters of the Baroque period often included trompe-l'œil features in their paintings, playfully exploring the boundary between image and reality. For example, a fly might appear to be sitting on the painting's frame, 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:
 Portrait of a Carthusian by Petrus Christus (1446) |
 Painter with a Pipe and Book by Gerard Dou (c.1654) |
 Trompe l'oeil by Henry Fuseli (1750) |
 Escaping Criticism by Pere Borrell del Caso (1874) |
Trompe-l'œil is employed in Donald O'Connor's famous 'Running up the wall' scene in the film Singin' in the Rain. 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.
Trompe-l'œil is also featured in many episodes of Looney Tunes, such as the Road Runner cartoons, where Wile E. Coyote paints a tunnel on a rock wall and the road runner races through the fake tunnel. This is usually followed by the coyote foolishly trying to run through the tunnel after the road runner, only to smash into the hard rock.
Trompe-l'œil artists
See also
External links
- Deceptions and Illusions, National Gallery of Art exhibition on Trompe-l'œil paintings
- Trompe l'oeil Tricks: Borges' Baroque Illusionism, essay by Lois Parkinson Zamora comparing trompe l'oeil to the literature of Borges
