The anecdote is famous. It says that the young Giotto once painted a fly on the nose of a figure painted by his elder. Cimabue. So true, in fact, that the master repeatedly tried to expel the insect from his work. This illusion is that of the “musca depicta” or “painted fly”, a gimmick taken up by all painters who wanted to be virtuosos, i.e. capable of imitating nature to perfection.

At the Parisian Musée Marmottan Monet, where the new director of collections, Sylvie Carlier, has put together an exhibition of 80 paintings and sculptures summarizing the history of trompe-l’œil in the West, this “musca depicta” can be seen in numerous works. From the work of Füssli senior (1706-1782) to Dish with 533 flies by ceramist Pierre Ducordeau (1928-2018), and this faux bas-relief in patched faux plaster by the somewhat prestidigitating painter Jean Valette-Penot (1710-1777). A host of amusing surprises, all of which…