Murals: Hans Feibusch | Nigel Simmons | Other
Sculpture: Statuary | Carvings
Signs: Metal | Painted
Trompe L'oeil: Windows | Three-dimensional | Other

Art Tour -- Trompe L'oeil -- Windows

Trompe L'oeil at Portmeirion

Trompe L'oeil (French for 'fool the eye') is a form of art that gives an illusion of photographic reality, making things seem real which are not. Sir Clough Williams-Ellis used trompe l'oeil frequently in his design of Portmeirion, and it is fun to identify them. It is really not surprising that he did this. Portmeirion has often been compared to Portofino in its coloring and architectural style, and Sir Clough had visited Italy enough to know of its penchant for using trompe l'oeil as part of its charm, making fake balconies and gardens, etc.

This Section. Upper Left: Five trompe l'oeil windows surround the open doorway of the Gloriette. Upper Right: The top windows on the front of the Arches are painted fake ones.
Middle Left: Although Chantry Row appears to be line of four two-storey cottages, the upper windows are actually fake painted ones, and it consists of only two hotel suites. Middle Right: The circular windows are fake on the Pantheon. So is the upper part of the long window.

This section contains my favorite two trompe l'oeil pieces at portmeirion. Left: This is an amazing trompe l'oeil painting of a person in a window. It is located on the front of the Toilet near the entrance. Right: This trompe l'oeil 'devil' in the 'window' is startling to encounter. He is located at the top of the back of Government House, on the estuary side, and is not visible to day visitors.

A masterpiece of Trompe L'oeil, Cliff House deserves its own section. Upper Left: The front of Cliff House shows seven windows -- three of them are fake. Can you tell which are which? The righthand three are painted on. Upper Right: Close-up of two of the fake windows, showing the painted on curtains and details. Artist Nigel Simmons did such a wonderful job that it is difficult to tell which are real and which are not. Bottom: All these windows on the side of Cliff House are fake. Nigel even included the reflection of the Annexe in the side "windows" of Cliff House, and replicated the lace curtains seen in the real front windows. The real views for Cliff House are facing the estuary, on the other side of the building, and Clough did not want to have just a blank wall facing the day visitors as they entered Portmeirion; hence, the elaborate trompe l'oeil windows.

Another masterpiece of trompe l'oeil is found at the Ship Shop (Salutation). Left: This picture of Salutation (Ship Shop) shows the mural (originally created by Susan Williams-Ellis) recently restored by artist Nigel Simmons, which includes a trompe l'oeil window in the center. The painted window is almost indistinguishable from the real windows on either side of it. Right: Close-up of the trompe l'oeil window. It even shows the projected reflection of being able to see through the building and out the window on the other side to the carpark.