illusionism

In art, the two-dimensional representation of a subject in such a way that it seems to exist as a real object in three dimensions. Techniques include the careful use of perspective and shading. A form of illusionism is the trompe l'oeil picture; another is in baroque art where pictorial space was made an extension of real space. Baroque ceiling paintings, in which figures appear to detach themselves in space, were often combined with sculptures to merge the real and the artistic.