Now You See It...Now You Don't Illusionistic Seventeenth Century Ceiling Painting Introduction:Webster's Dictionary defines illusion as a “perception of something objective existing in such a way that cause misinterpretation of its real nature." In Europe during the 17th century, or Baroque era, some artistic implementations of spatial illusion were established. The influence of perception was deteriorating and being questioned. Artists of the time responded appropriately with paintings and structures intended to deceive the eye, the literal meaning of trompe l'oeil. This style, not at all new, was revived in Baroque art, causing the viewer to ask "Is this real?" as well as first and foremost arousing a sense of wonder at the artist's mastery of stimulating the senses. At the French Academy of Painting and Sculpture, Abraham Bosse, one of its founders, emphasized the importance of using geometry and even went so far as to define perspective and provide rigorous criteria for successful paintings. In the genre of ceiling painting, these standards were essential. Bosse emphasized that perspective was the first principle in every painting, and the illusionistic painting of the ceiling would be the result only of rigorous compliance with the precept of perspective. Illusionism is not an indicator of correctness, but it should conform closely to a perspective construction to be designated as such. Bosse further defined that the application of perspective in the "anatomy" of the painting was a critical measure in which the vanishing point is found to fall outside (on top of) the ceiling painting. Heinrich Wolfflin said of the Baroque ceiling painting that it was characterized by its creation of an illusion of ...... half of the paper ......, deceiving the eye and redefining the context of spatial perception.Sources:Title : Baroque architecture, sculpture and paintingAuthor: Rolf TomanSource: Baroque sculpture in Italy, France and Central Europe, pp. 391Published by: Tandem Verlag, 2007Title: The Catholic ReviewAuthor: Joseph ConnorsSource: The Catholic Historical Review, vol. 74, No. 4, (October 1988), pp. 624-626 Title: Experiencing Architecture through Byzantine Image: Painted Architecture as Architectural Space Author: Joao Cabeleira Source: The International Journal of the Image, vol. 1, No. 2, (2011), pp.120-133Published by: Common Ground PublishingTitle: Studies in 17th-Century French Art Theory and Ceiling PaintingAuthor: Carl GoldsteinSource: The Art Bulletin, vol. 47, No. 2 (June 1965), pp. 231-256, Publisher: College Art Association