tropme l'oeil

Trompe l'oeil


French for "deceive the eye", Trompe l'œil is an art technique involving realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects exist in three dimensions. Forced perspective is a comparable illusion in architecture.

 

Trompe l'œil in the form of forced perspective has long been used in set design, so as to create the illusion of a much deeper space than the actual stage. A famous early example is the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, with Vincenzo Scamozzi's seven forced-perspective "streets" (1585) which appear to recede into the distance.