Trompe What?

It may be hard to spell — the term is French, after all — but trompe l’oeil is a design classic when it comes to decorative murals.

Pronounced ‘tromp loy’, trompe l’oeil simply means ‘fool the eye’ and that’s just what this witty style of decoration strives to do. A sophisticated technique, it relies on highly realistic painting to create the illusion of objects and spaces on flat surfaces.

Trompe l’oeil classics include: ceilings which pretend to be skies, solid walls which masquerade as doors or windows, and architectural features, such as columns and mouldings, which look like stone but are made of nothing more than a few licks of paint. Flesh too can be foolery in trompe l’oeil: naked gods, nymphs, and fat flying cupids are a traditional part of this art of illusion.

Trompe l’oeil is a challenge for painters, calling for high levels of technical skill. Renowned classical muralists like Tiepolo and Rubens used it to create magnificent effects on walls and ceilings all over Europe. But it can be used effectively on a small scale and with modern themes to create clever design features in contemporary spaces.