Trompe l'oeil, or disturbing art, from paintings to plates

From the 16th century, trompe l'oeil artists imposed a strange constraint on themselves: recreate a three-dimensional world on a completely flat surface. The characters are thus always to scale and, thanks to the depth of field, it is a bit as if they are coming out of the frame. The invention of oil paint made it possible to give a transparent appearance to fake pieces of glass on a work. Ideal for creating stunning material effects.

“These artists have in common this ability to deceive us but also to have fun with the different codes used to accentuate this trompe l'oeil effect”explains Sylvie Carlier, curator of the exhibition “Le trompe-l’oeil”, at the Marmottan Monet museum. Trompe l'oeil continues to fascinate artists who vary the techniques. Recently, in the culinary arts, chef Cédric Grolet has made his fake fruits one of his trademarks.

Watch the full report in the video above.