Trompe l’oeil (tromp loy) describes art that is made to trick the viewer into thinking that an image is real. Think of it like the old Road Runner cartoons where Wile E. Coyote paints a tunnel on a rock and suddenly a train comes roaring out. Same concept except there won’t be any trains coming out (we hope).

Trope l’oeil dates back to the Renaissance when artist began using perspective to give their paintings a more realistic look, but is used today to primarily describe works with photo realistic qualities.