The sgraffiti are drawn in the art technique of trompe l’oeil, giving a false perspective and the illusion of a column.
Trompe, a hydropowered pump which produces pressurised air
trompe-l'œil | trompe l'oeil | Trompe-l'œil | Trompe l'oeil | trompe-l'oeil | Trompe | On s'est trompé d'histoire d'amour |
Several floors were added to the structure, and the courtyard was decorated with a trompe-l'œil mural of architectural features by muralist Richard Haas.
Noted for championing American art, (see, Actual Art) his most famous book is After The Hunt, a volume that examined the trompe-l'œil movement in late 19th century and early 20th-century American art, focussing on the painters William Harnett and John Frederick Peto.
Highlights include the "Watteau" wing and its recently discovered frescoes, Richelieu's bed chamber, the magnificent "trompe-l'œil" effects of Servandoni, the "little private apartments" and the outstanding drawing room decorated by Oudry.
Decoration of the house includes polychrome painting, trompe-l'oeil murals in the eye of the dome, original wallpapers produced by Xavier Mader for the manufacturer Joseph Dufour et Cie, candelabra and chandeliers by Pierre-Philippe Thomire, and original Empire and Restauration period furniture.
John Frederick Peto (May 21, 1854 – November 23, 1907) was an American trompe l'oeil ("fool the eye") painter who was long forgotten until his paintings were rediscovered along with those of fellow trompe l'oeil artist William Harnett.
During the renovation, the exterior of the building was covered on three sides with trompe-l'œil murals by Richard Haas.
The south side of the building has a Trompe-l'œil of "The Honeymooners" – depicting two characters from the television show The Honeymooners – and a Pacific Northwest temperate rainforest mural painted by Robert Scott Dobie, a Vancouver Island-born artist.
Otis Kaye carried on the trompe l'oeil tradition of William Harnett, John Frederick Peto, and John Haberle, and is esteemed particularly for his works which include U.S. currency.
Recently finished renovations (2000) include the re-opening of the neo-baroque Salon Ziehrer and the redesigned Lanner-Lehar Hall with wall and ceiling murals by German Trompe-l'œil artist Rainer Maria Latzke.
Between 1718 and 1721 the trompe-l'œil altars of St. Casimir and Virgin Mary were sponsored by Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł, voivode of Vilnius.
The trompe-l'œil mural on the wall behind the statue is that of a storefront, and includes what would appear to be the reflection of a red flatbed Ford pickup truck driven by a blonde-haired woman.