Trompe l'Oeil: Murals and Decorative Wall Painting [Hardcover]

Lynette Wrigley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1997

This unique book is an inspirational guide to one of the most fascinating aspects of interior design: the art of illusion and other specialist decoration. Vibrantly illustrated and fascinating to read, it contains a portfolio of the very best contemporary work from around the world in a wide range of styles for both decorative and trompe l'oeil murals.

The works of such well known artists as Richard Haas, Garth Benton, and Graham Rust are represented by the dream landscapes and fantasy murals that have made them the most sought-after decorators in the industry. Roman, Greek, and Renaissance murals, pastoral scenes or oriental landscapes, fantasy scenes, and faux painted effects appear here in both small and large scale--in grand hotels, movie theaters, modern urban apartments, and eveyday or rustic homes.

With a valuable list of references and sources, Trompe L'Oeil will appeal to professional murals and other artists, interior designers, and architects as a rich source of reference, and to home owners interested in painting their own murals or seeking ideas for commissions. This beautifully illustrated book contains inspiration for all tastes and budgets.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These three books look at decorative painting on a grand scale. Wrigley provides an overview of the art in her mostly inspirational rather than practical guide. She gives an international look at mural and trompe l'oeil painting in historical and contemporary settings, even including work by Rust. In his own work, Rust details his approach to trompe l'oeil by showing planned and in-situ projects that he has designed. He gives painting and planning advice as well as his sources for the inspiration of his designs. His book will be useful for experienced decoraters. Buckingham offers the amateur more detailed instructions for decorating walls, beginning with a review of necesarry equipment. She provides instructions for smaller projects before approaching larger-scale stenciling work such as painting mosaic floors and trompe l'oeil fireplaces, although stenciling is covered in better detail in Jane Gauss's Stencilling Techniques (LJ 5/15/96). While all are recommended where there is an interest, Buckingham and Rust should be the first choices for how-to collections.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Murals, pictures on walls, have been around for centuries - the Ancient Egyptians decorated their pyramids with them, the Ancient Greeks adorned the walls of their villas with figurative paintings and the Romans believed in divine protection from their wall depictions of gods and goddesses. All these have influenced artists through the ages to the present day, their colour, beauty and intrinsic detail permeating today's contemporary designs. This fully illustrated book offers a brief history of wall painting and trompe l'oeil (tricks of the eye) and showcases the work of 38 of today's most talented muralists from around the world. Full of inspiration for budding artists, the authors explain and highlight the tricks behind creating trompe l'oeil, painting murals, picking styles as diverse as Renaissance, Chinoisserie, Georgian and modern. Beautiful works of art fooling the eye, giving pleasure, adding an extra dimension to a room, and all giving a very personal stamp to the owner's homes. A joy to browse, an interesting and informative read and full of ideas to translate to your own home. - Lucy Watson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli (October 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847820459
• ISBN-13: 978-0847820450
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,363,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully illustrated book for experienced artists., September 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Trompe l'Oeil: Murals and Decorative Wall Painting (Hardcover)

Although beautifully illustrated and inspiring, this book did not provide any helpful, basic information that I needed to get started in the art of trompe l'oeil.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring images for students of trompe l'oeil., July 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Trompe l'Oeil: Murals and Decorative Wall Painting (Hardcover)

As a student of trompe l'oeil I purchased this book hoping to get new ideas and inspiring images. This book provides just that. I had to order two more copies for my art teacher and her assistant. The photographs alone makes the book worth ordering.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for going to the next step., June 9, 2001

By 

drenda benn (Huntsville, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trompe l'Oeil: Murals and Decorative Wall Painting (Hardcover)

Although there is a need for beginning trompe l'oeil painters, it was great to have a book that takes the next step. Even a beginner can get a better idea of what is out there. I will enjoy this book for some time. This book helps with examples of scale, and depth perception to further increase the believability of the illusion. Great book!