From the coauthor of the best-selling Handbook of Painted Decoration comes this advanced exploration of trompe l'oeil art and technique.

From a countryside panorama in a windowless room to a faux mosaic wall, an intricately painted Oriental carpet to a soaring cathedral dome in a single-story room, Trompe l’oeil painting offers an art form ideal for contemporary interiors, adding color and aesthetic atmosphere and responding to specific architectural needs and situations. Trompe L’Oeil Today offers a fascinating overview of the range of styles and techniques of illusionistic painting for private residences and public spaces, restaurants and other commercial interiors, and even indoor swimming pools. It covers unusual techniques, such as anamorphism, and bold geometric patterns, as well as more traditional Trompe L’oeil subjects, including Pompeian-style wall paintings, classical arches and colonnades, landscapes, statues and reliefs, and elaborate ceiling treatments. The book defines the categories of illusionistic painting: material imitation, or faux finishes, ranging from marble and wood finishes to snake and crocodile skin; grisaille, including imaginary moldings, reliefs, and statuary; small-format trompe l’oeils, such as those painted in niches and on doors; and large panoramic murals. Experienced professionals, the authors address practical questions and offer helpful tips and tricks for choosing the right materials, technique, and style. They examine the use of perspective and the psychology of visual perception, presenting a visually beguiling array of painting possibilities. Trompe L’Oeil Today is an essential reference for artists and designers working in trompe l’oeil and in search of suggestions or inspiration, interior architects and decorators looking for an outline of what can be done to create new and different ambiances, and clients who plan to commission a work. Over 150 four-color photographs illustrate the architectural and aesthetic impact of professional illusionistic work. Trompe L’Oeil Today is an invaluable survey of an impressive, popular art form.

The essays in Disguise, Deception, Trompe-l'oeil: Interdisciplinary Perspectives investigate the subject of deception and falsehood from various perspectives. Classical, modernist and postmodern texts and art forms, both visual and performative, are examined in frames of reference that range from aesthetics and literary theory to cognitive science. In some cases, deception and falsehood are seen to have positive connotations, and, in other cases, their negative dimensions are highlighted. The complexity of these terms and their relationship with truth and truthfulness are put on display by the contributors to this volume.

The essential guide to choosing patterns for the home, Love Patternand Colour is packed full of colourful, inspiring ideas for using pattern with confidence.

Are We There Yet? Virtual Travel and Victorian Realismconnects the Victorian fascination with "virtual travel" with the rise of realism in nineteenth-century fiction and twenty-first-century experiments in virtual reality. Even as the expansion of river and railway networks in the nineteenth century made travel easier than ever before, staying at home and fantasizing about travel turned into a favorite pastime. New ways of representing place—360-degree panoramas, foldout river maps, exhaustive railway guides—offered themselves as substitutes for actual travel. Thinking of these representations as a form of "virtual travel" reveals a surprising continuity between the Victorian fascination with imaginative dislocation and twenty-first -century efforts to use digital technology to expand the physical boundaries of the self.

Long considered the epitome of all that is chic, glamorous, and desirable, Paris is every shopper's dream. But even the most indefatigable shopper is sure to be overwhelmed by the embarras de richesses. In The Riches of Paris, Maribeth Clemente shares her insider's knowledge of the choicest boutiques, restaurants, wine cellars, and auctions to help you find endless treasures. Whether you're looking for designer fashions, Limoges china, the finest perfumes, the best Bordeaux, or just browsing, The Riches of Paris is an indispensable guide for making your visit to Paris enjoyable and unforgettable.