nountrompe l'oeils
mass noun1Visual illusion in art, especially as used to trick the eye into perceiving a painted detail as a three-dimensional object.
‘look at the pillars and arches around the immense dome—they are trompe l'œil’
- ‘his love of classical trompe l'œil is sometimes a little precious’
- ‘trompe l'œil architectural details’
- ‘trompe l'œil marble’
- 1.1count noun A painting or design intended to create a visual illusion.
- ‘she climbed up to paint a trompe l'œil over the brackets as camouflage’
Origin
French, literally ‘deceives the eye’.