<P> Trompe - l'œil (French for "deceive the eye", pronounced (tʁɔ̃p lœj)) is an art technique that uses realistic imagery to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects exist in three dimensions . Forced perspective is a comparable illusion in architecture . </P> <P> Though the phrase, which can also be spelled without the hyphen and ligature in English as trompe l'oeil, originates in the Baroque period, when it refers to perspectival illusionism, trompe - l'œil dates much further back . It was (and is) often employed in murals . Instances from Greek and Roman times are known, for instance in Pompeii . A typical trompe - l'œil mural might depict a window, door, or hallway, intended to suggest a larger room . </P>

The literal meaning of the french phrase trompe l'oeil is