The term trompe l'oeil is French, meaning 'to deceive the eye' and pronounced Trump Loy.

Trompe l'Oeil is a style of painting that employes standard techniques used in realism.

Trompe l'Oeil is not to be confused with photo realism which creates a painted copy of a photograph.

Trompe l'Oeil uses paint to create the illusion of a three dimensional reality present with the viewer.

The artist seeks to deceive the viewrer into believing what they are looking at is really there,

a present 3 dimensional reality, not a painting or a photograph of what is depicted.

The technique of fooling the eye with a painted image is not new.

Murals found prserved under the ash of Vesuvias at Pompei depict exterior gardens and

interior architectural features. While no easel paintings have survived antiquity, there is

evidence that they existed.

In 16th to 20th century European architecture, large murals on the ceilings of churches

incorporate trompe l'oeil for vaults, arches, pillars, pillasters, reliefs, sculptures and faux

painting of marble, wood and stone.

Some trompe l'oeil master muralists are Michelangelo, Raphael, Paolo Veronese and

Giambattista Tiepolo. Among others are Andrea Pozzo, Baldassare Peruzzi,

Domenico del Frate, Antonio Marini and Annibale Carracci.

Easel paintings are smaller pieces on canvas and wood panels.

Cut-out trompe l'oeil, known as chantourny in French, are panels cut into the overall shape

of the objects they depict, extending the illusion beyond a standard rectanglular picture.

In easel painting the artists include historical masters; Nicolas Guy Brenet, Leroy de Barde ,

Antonio Cioci, René Duboise, Jan van Eyke, Georg Flegel, Antonio Forbera,

Samuel van Hoogstaten, Domenico Remps, Alexander-Isidore & Walter Goodman.

Some Early American masters are; Wendle Castle , Jefferson David Chalefant,

William M. Davis, John Haberle, William Michael Harnett, Charles Willson Peale,

Raphaelle Peale, and John Fredrick Peto.

Contemporary masters include; Menna Barreto,Larry Charles, Donald Clapper, Eric Conklin,

Gary T. Erbe, Michael Gallarda,Gerald Hodge, Michael Molnar, Stephen E. Price,Bernard Scholl,

Gayle B. Tate and Gregory West.