The history of Trick Art

Do you know the history of Trick Art?

The history of trick art dates back to an anecdote about two famous Greek painter, Zeuxis and Palacios, written in Plinius Secundus's "Historia naturalis"(1st century).

One day, they got together, each bringing a work themselves and competed to outdo each other. Zeuxis painted a bunch of grape and a small bird came to peck. He said Palacios to take the cover of cloth and show him Palacios's work. But, in fact, the cloth was just Palacios's work! Zeuxis's grape merely tricked small bird's eyes, but Palacios's cloth tricked famous painter's eyes. So, of course, Palacios was declared the victor in the competition.

Like Zeuxis's grape, there are many stories that a picture attracted animals because of its verisimilitube. However, if it was lifelike picture, there was no one who thought that real grape
was there. Even it can trick a small bird's eyes, it can't trick a human's eyes.
But like Palacios's cloth, if painter uses spatial contextual cueing well and make an illusion, the  cloth in a frame becomes just like cloth covering something. Trick art indicates an art like this.

In the early history of trick art, "To make the picture just like real things and to be seen the subject is there" were always the mainstream. I will introduce some of the example.

A wall painting in ancient Rome


In ancient Rome, perspective drawing was already used. This picture is the evidence. By the paint of pillars and background in the wall, it shows space as if a world exists over the wall.

Potrait of aCarthusian (1446)

A fly in the picture of　Flanders

In a portrait, sometimes a fly was painted as if it settled on one's head. By the ordinary sense that a fly must not be painted on such conspicuous place, many people carelessly think a real fly settles on the picture and want to drive away. It was popular in Renaissance art in Italy, too.

Thus until about 17th or 18th century, how the picture seems to merge into background is most important. Such pictures were so minute and great as paintings.

But as time went by, pictures that make "illusion" became more popular. For example, Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898～1972) is one of the most famous trick art painters. In last week blog, I  introduced his picture of waterfall.

Sky and Water I (1938)

This picture is also Escher's work. When fish became a bird!? It's so amazing.
Thus, he made various types of art and most of them are illusion. I want to introduce Escher more, but it is joy for next week. So I put up with my desire now.

Of course there are many the former style of trick arts. This room is in a hotel in Nagano now. The cabinet and the piano are real thing. But the curtain and the view from the window are trick art.









How is the history of trick art? At first, the main purpose of trick is enjoying the artistic aspect. But now, it is enjoying the illusory aspect. I think that the history of trick art is that is to say, the change of the concept of trick art.