When Street Art Tricks the Eye: The World's Most Impressive Trompe-l'œil Artworks

Trompe-l’œil is one of the oldest painting techniques. The term first appeared at the Paris Salon in 1800, but the technique dates back to ancient Greece. Over the past thirty years or so, it has enjoyed a renaissance on the streets, particularly through trompe-l’œil street art. Indeed, many street artists are taking over building facades and sidewalks, transforming them into canvases of illusion. At PALM, this tradition speaks directly to us. Creating art everywhere—especially where you least expect it. But also playing with the passerby’s gaze, transforming a simple wall into a story.

Trompe-l'œil Street Art Using Three Techniques

There are thus three trompe-l’œil techniques:

• anamorphosis : the artwork is only fully revealed from a specific vantage point, inviting passersby to move around to appreciate the illusion.
• Realism: a historical form of trompe-l’œil, it involves making the viewer believe that an element is real (a fake window, a figure on a balcony, a street scene).
• Optical illusions: They play on perspective, shadows, or visual distortion to challenge the viewer’s perception, without attempting to imitate reality.

Here, then, is our selection of eight works that have played with our perception on the street, both in France and abroad.

The Trocadéro Cliffs by JR (Paris, France)

Between May 17 and June 19, 2021, street artist JR installed a large trompe-l’œil on the Parvis des Droits de l’Homme. The piece created the illusion that the Eiffel Tower was perched on the edge of a rocky precipice. Created using photographic collages and based on the technique ofanamorphosis, the artwork could only be seen as the artist intended it from a very specific viewing angle.

• Location: Parvis des Droits de l’Homme, Paris 16th arrondissement, France
• Artist: JR
• Year: 2021
• Special feature: large-scale anamorphosis a photographic collage

"Renaissance" by Patrick Commecy (Le Puy-en-Velay, France)

Created in May 2012 by the A-Fresco studio, this murals the Renaissance Festival of Le Puy-en-Velay, an annual event where residents dressed in period costumes bring the streets to life. Patrick Commecy also incorporates the emblems of the Velay region: lace, verbena, as well as lesser-known specialties such as wooden clogs and falconry. Since the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a major stop on the Camino de Santiago, the artwork serves as a visual identity for the region.

• Location: 25 rue du Faubourg Saint-Jean, Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire
• Artist: Patrick Commecy (A. Fresco Studio)
• Year: 2012
• Special feature: a trompe-l’œil depicting the city through its festivals and local specialties

The "Prisoners" series by Dan Witz (U.S. and international)

Launched in 2012 in collaboration with Amnesty International, Dan Witz’s “Prisoners” series featured small hyperrealistic paintings on walls depicting hands and faces trapped behind fake bars. Scattered throughout New York, London, Frankfurt, as well as Vienna and Los Angeles, these works denounced illegal detention by capitalizing on the element of surprise.

• Locations: New York, London, Frankfurt, Vienna, Los Angeles
• Artist: Dan Witz
• Years: 2012–2015
• Special feature: a trompe-l’œil created in collaboration with Amnesty International

"The Mind is the Beast (Me, Myself and I)" by Juandrés Vera (Dresden, Germany)

Created in 2016 for the Magic City exhibition in Dresden, this work by Mexican artist Juandrés Vera is a monumental anamorphosis self-portrait. The artist depicts himself emerging from a gilded Baroque frame, in the act of painting. At the base of the murals, a second painted figure also depicts the artist, seemingly finishing the work, creating a mise en abyme of the artistic act.

• Location: Magic City, Dresden, Germany
• Artist: Juandrés Vera
• Year: 2016
• Key points: self-portrait, anamorphosis, mise en abyme

See also: Trompe-l'oeil wall art: examples, how-to guide, and budget

STRØK's murals Hop murals on Rue de la Glacière (Paris's 13th arrondissement, France)

In May 2016, Norwegian artist Anders Gjennestad (aka STRØK) created a stenciled mural of four hip-hop dancers on the gable of 20 Rue de la Glacière, 25 meters high. Appearing to be suspended in mid-air, each dancer seems to be playing with his own shadow. Here, the artist had fun rotating the figures by 45° to unsettle the viewer. Mission accomplished!

• Location: 20 rue de la Glacière, Paris 13th arrondissement, France
• Artist: Anders Gjennestad (STRØK)
• Year: 2016
• Special feature: stencil with drop shadows and reverse perspective on the facade

"Knowledge Speaks, Wisdom Listens" by Wild Drawing (Athens, Greece)

Originally from Bali and now based in Athens, the artist known by the pseudonym WD (Wild Drawing) created one of his most iconic works there in October 2016. It is an owl painted at the corner of Samou and Palaiologou Streets in the Metaxourgeio neighborhood. Titled “Knowledge speaks, Wisdom listens” —a quote from Jimi Hendrix—the murals the owl, a symbol of the goddess Athena and of wisdom, in a call for clarity amid the Greek crisis. The murals thus presents murals as an optical illusion in the broadest sense.

• Location: Corner of Samou and Konstantinou Palaiologou Streets, Metaxourgeio, Athens, Greece
• Artist: Wild Drawing (WD)
• Year: 2016
• Distinctive feature: monumental hyperrealism at the corner where two facades meet, transforming Athena’s bird of wisdom into an urban landmark

*Lost World* by Kurt Wenner (United States)

A former scientific illustrator at NASA, American artist Kurt Wenner has been considered one of the pioneers of 3D ground-based trompe-l’œil art since the 1980s. In 2019, at the Chalk Festival in Florida, he unveiled his work *Lost World – A New Kind Of Illusion*, an murals centered on a giant megalodon reminiscent of the Pleistocene era. To fully experience the illusion, visitors were invited to climb onto a platform more than 5 meters high, where a camera captured panoramic photos that incorporated them into the scene.

• Location: Chalk Festival, Florida, United States 
• Artist: Kurt Wenner
• Year: 2019
• Special feature: giant illusion featuring a megalodon, designed for photography from a raised platform

See also: IMMOBILLIÈRE 3F – LA GARENNE-COLOMBES X LOUYZ

"The Crevasse" by Edgar Müller (Dun Laoghaire, Ireland)

German artist Edgar Müller is also one of the leading figures in 3D floor trompe-l’œil, following in the footsteps of Kurt Wenner. In August 2008, as part of the Festival of World Culture, he transformed a section of the Dun Laoghaire harbor into *The Crevasse*. It depicts a giant glacial crevasse that appears to be opening up beneath the feet of passersby. The artwork, painted in acrylic over an area of 250 m², caused some visitors to instinctively step back, convinced they might fall into it. This demonstrates just how effective the illusion is.

• Location: East Pier, Dun Laoghaire, Ireland
• Artist: Edgar Müller
• Year: 2008
• Distinctive feature: a 250 m² glacial crevasse that makes you feel like you're falling into it

From Paris to Dresden, via New York and Athens, these works prove that a simple wall or sidewalk can become a stage, a story, and sometimes even a manifesto, as soon as an artist chooses to play with the viewer’s perception. At PALM, it is this ability of art to transform our perspective and re-enchant public spaces that we seek to carry forward, project after project.

See also

• Wall trompe l'oeil: projects and estimates
• The Feeble: An Introduction to the Artist and His Works
• The most beautiful artistic playgrounds in the world
• Universcience Exhibition: Crowds – Anamorphoses
• Hammerson – Les 3 Fontaines x The Feebles