trompe loeil

trompe-l'œil

trompe-l'œil (Fr.: ‘deceives the eye’). Term applied to a painting (or a detail of one) that is intended to deceive the spectator (if only briefly) into thinking that it is a real object rather than a two-dimensional representation of it. Such virtuoso displays of skill often have a humorous intent, and anecdotes of almost miraculous feats of trompe-l'œil are typical of periods in which naturalism has been cultivated, such as the Classical age in Greece (see Parrhasius) and the Italian Renaissance. Vasari, for example, records that the young Giotto tricked his master Cimabue by painting on the nose of a figure on which he was engaged ‘a fly so lifelike that when Cimabue returned to carry on with his work he tried several times to brush it off with his hand, under the impression that it was real, before he realized his mistake’. Petrus Christus's Portrait of a Carthusian (c.1446, Met. Mus., New York) is an example of a painting with such a trompe-l'œil fly, here on a painted ledge at the bottom of the picture, rather than on the sitter's nose. Sometimes the term ‘trompe-l'œil’ is used loosely to refer to any type of pictorial illusionism (for example quadratura), but such usage deprives a useful term of its precision.

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IAN CHILVERS. "trompe-l'œil." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

IAN CHILVERS. "trompe-l'œil." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O3-trompelil.html

IAN CHILVERS. "trompe-l'œil." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O3-trompelil.html

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trompe-l'œil

trompe-l'œil. Term (French: ‘deceives the eye’) applied to a painting (or a detail of one) that is intended to deceive the spectator (if only briefly) into thinking that it is a real object rather than a two-dimensional representation of it. Such virtuoso displays of skill often have a humorous intent, and anecdotes of almost miraculous feats of trompe-l'œil are typical of periods in which naturalism has been cultivated, such as the classical age in Greece (see Parrhasius) and the Italian Renaissance. Vasari, for example, records that the young Giotto tricked his master Cimabue by painting on the nose of a figure on which he was engaged ‘a fly so lifelike that when Cimabue returned to carry on with his work he tried several times to brush it off with his hand, under the impression that it was real, before he realized his mistake’. Petrus Christus' Portrait of a Carthusian (c.1446, Met. Mus., New York) is an example of a painting with such a trompe-l'œil fly, here on a painted ledge at the bottom of the picture, rather than on the sitter's nose. Sometimes the term trompe-l'œil is used loosely to refer to any type of pictorial illusionism (for example quadratura), but such usage deprives a useful term of its precision.

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IAN CHILVERS. "trompe-l'œil." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

IAN CHILVERS. "trompe-l'œil." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-trompelil.html

IAN CHILVERS. "trompe-l'œil." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-trompelil.html

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trompe l'œil

trompe l'œil.
1. Literally a deception or trick of the eye, it is usually two-dimensional painting showing an arrangement of objects that look disconcertingly real, often used to suggest architectural elements.

2. Painted representations of marble, grained wood, etc.

3. Applied decoration imitating a surface or texture, such as grisaille figures in Neo-Classical work imitating reliefs, sgraffito decoration imitating diamond-pointed rustication (e.g. Schwarzenburg Palace, Prague (1543–63) ), or quadratura representing architecture in perspective.

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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "trompe l'œil." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JAMES STEVENS CURL. "trompe l'œil." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-trompelil.html

JAMES STEVENS CURL. "trompe l'œil." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-trompelil.html

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trompe l'œil

trompe l'œil visual illusion in art, especially as used to trick the eye into perceiving a painted detail as a three-dimensional object. The term is French, and means literally ‘deceive the eye’.

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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "trompe l'œil." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "trompe l'œil." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-trompelil.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "trompe l'œil." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-trompelil.html

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trompe l'oeil

trompe l'oeil : see illusionism .

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"trompe l'oeil." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"trompe l'oeil." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-trompelo.html

"trompe l'oeil." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-trompelo.html

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trompe l'œil

trompe l'œilahoy, alloy, Amoy, annoy, boy, buoy, cloy, coy, destroy, employ, enjoy, Hanoi, hoi polloi, hoy, Illinois, joy, koi, oi, ploy, poi, Roy, savoy, soy, toy, trompe l'œil, troy

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"trompe l'œil." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"trompe l'œil." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-trompelil.html

"trompe l'œil." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-trompelil.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Trompe l'oeil gallery.(ARTEXPO NEW YORK 2005 POSTSHOW SPOTLIGHT)(The...
Magazine article from: Art Business News; 5/1/2005
THE ART OF DECEPTION.(Pasatiempo)
Newspaper article from: The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, NM); 3/1/2002
Creating heritage at Le Domaine.(Opinion & Editorial)
Newspaper article from: Manila Bulletin; 8/12/2004
trompe loeil images
trompe l'oeil. (Image by Alberto Fernandez Fernandez, GFDL)