Trompe l'oeil

A French expression meaning 'deceives the eye', trompe l'oeil describes painting in which things are made to appear to be resting on or projecting from the surface of the picture.

A French expression meaning 'deceives the eye', trompe l'oeil describes painting in which things are made to appear to be resting on or projecting from the surface of the picture.

  • French:
    Trompe-l'oeil
  • Italian:
    Trompe-l'oeil
  • Portuguese:
    trompe l'olei
  • Spanish:
    Engañifa

Michelle Brown, Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts (Malibu, CA: J. Paul Getty Museum in association with the British Library, c1994).