Ah, art. Art makes the world a better place. Art conveys emotions; art connects people across generations to a time in the past. There’s a lot of art out there, some very old—so old, in fact, it’s in the public domain. Some art is so new, like AI-powered work, that connoisseurs would say we’re remiss to call it art at all. But here we are in an era where technology and creativity collide. As AI continues to push boundaries, the lines between human craftsmanship and machine-generated creations are blurring. Can you spot the difference? Time to put your art expertise to the test!
History lesson
Trompe-l’œil (French for “deceive the eye”) is all about tricking the viewer into thinking they’re seeing something three-dimensional on a flat surface. It’s been around since ancient Greece and Rome, where artists used it to make rooms look bigger by painting fake windows or doors. Romans were all about making small spaces feel more expansive.
Fast forward to the Renaissance, and the technique saw a revival. Artists like Andrea Mantegna made ceilings look like they opened straight into the sky, taking realism to new heights. It was a way to show off artistic skill—getting that depth and perspective just right was no small feat.
In the 17th century, Trompe-l’œil really took off, especially in Northern Europe. Baroque artists like Samuel van Hoogstraten created hyper-realistic scenes, sometimes so convincing you’d want to reach out and touch the objects. By the 19th century, American artists got in on the action, too, with painters like William Harnett mastering the illusion game in still-life work.
Today, you’ll still see Trompe-l’œil in street art and murals, keeping the tradition of optical illusion alive and well. It’s a classic technique that keeps evolving while sticking to its core purpose: fooling the eye and blowing minds.
Quiz Writer
Zach has been riding the gondola of trivia wherever the waters take him. Although he’s not a named consultant on any major quiz TV shows, Zach has watched them all since infancy and will happily take up any challenge whether it be pub quizzes or high-stakes matches he isn’t afraid to show up. And showing up is 90% of the work!
Did you know?
In 2018, Portrait of Edmond de Belamy went under the hammer at Christie’s and blew everyone’s minds when it sold for $432,500. The kicker? A person didn’t paint this eerie, blurry portrait. It came from a French collective called Obvious, who trained an AI on thousands of portraits to spit out something that looked vaguely human—if you squint. This wasn’t some gimmick; it marked the moment AI crashed into the fine art world with a hefty price tag.
But that sale made people realize we were standing at the edge of a new creative frontier, where algorithms could create art that might pass as human-made (or fool a few collectors, anyway). The portrait wasn’t just a fluke—it raised questions about who gets to call themselves an artist in a world where machines can generate their own work. Whether it’s a passing trend or the future, this sale shook the art world to its core.
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