How is your French? My university major in Spanish and minor in French were foundational to my cauldron of language soup which, since living in Israel, now includes Arabic and Hebrew. This alphabet soup has unfortunately cooked down to only the basics, but there are choice words which continue to stir up my love for languages in this international crossroads I call home. Immigrants and tourists from all over the world offer daily opportunities for me to practice. Although my earliest childhood dream to be a translator at the United Nations never really grew wings, I believe my real calling is translating the romance language of the soul.

The French term, trompe l’oeil, is a delectable foreign phrase ladled from my cauldron into a bowl of creative whimsy, served with a warm embrace to all who enter my living spaces. It is an artistic technique which literally means “deceive or fool the eye” and refers to creating an optical illusion that appears to exist in 3D, detailed and realistic. If your dream view or architectural detail is not available (or is too expensive)—I say, “Paint it and savor it!”

Paint, carpenter’s caulk, and a skilled artist/muralist combined for the illusion
of a carved wooden door surround inside my Jerusalem apartment.

The earliest mention of trompe l’oeil dates back to a Greek painter of the 5th century B.C., Zeuxis, who lived in the days when Socrates philosophized, the Parthenon rose from the Athenian Acropolis, the Persian King Xerxes (Ahasuerus) chose Esther to be his queen and Xerxes’ son, Artexerxes, decreed the Babylonian Hebrew exiles could resettle in Jerusalem and even returned the treasures plundered by Nebudchadnezzar to their newly constructed Second Temple.

What a tumultuous era with thunderous reverberations ad olam, Hebrew for “beyond the horizon” or “to the vanishing point.” Empires rose and fell, Western and Eastern thought collided, and the spiritual tectonic plates were shifting. It was a pivotal time when Zeuxis painted illusory images on the canvas of reality.

Jerusalem’s majestic Notre Dame Center boasts a grand arcade
which architecturally illustrates ad olam and the illusion
of a vanishing point called Forced Perspective.

In a legendary contest to determine the greatest artist of the ancient Greek world, Zeuxis was pitted against the artist of Ephesus, Parrhasius. When Zeuxis uncovered his still life painting of grapes, birds descended from the trees onto his painting to peck at the grapes. When Parrhasius asked Zeuxis to pull back the curtain to view his competitor’s painting, Zeuxis realized the curtain he was attempting to pull aside was, in fact, a trompe l’oeil curtain. Zeuxis declared Parrhasius the winner saying, “I fooled the birds, but Parrhasius has fooled a man.”

Sunset on the Mediterranean port city of Akko
floods a sitting room with trompe l’oeil patterns at the Efendi Hotel.

 

As the Jewish world prepares for the festival of Purim, celebrants remember Queen Esther’s request to save her people from annihilation. Traditionally, costumes and masks are part of the holiday as the Biblical story tells of hidden things revealed. God Himself seems to be wearing a mask as the name of God is never mentioned in the Book of Esther. He remains hidden, although the patterns of His handiwork are revealed in details of the story. Interestingly, the Hebrew root of olam carries the meaning “to veil from sight, conceal.”

Perched above the Sea of Galilee at The Place of Stories, my husband Gary and I created an inspirational nest. His 18 handcrafted eucalyptus stairs ascend alongside the painted mural of a gnarled tree branching upward in the spiral staircase. In Jewish thought the number 18 represents chai or life. Gary and I wanted the trompe l’oeil Tree of Life branches to embrace you as you climb. Painted fruits and birds of this land fill the branches. An oculus window is at the top of the staircase with a view out toward the Sea of Galilee and Golan Heights. Once the mural was completed, Gary found an abandoned bird’s nest in the garden and strategically placed it inside at the base of the oculus. Countless birds have been fooled into believing they can land on the nest or peck their way through the window. Optical illusion.

An Israeli songbird, the Yellow-vented Bulbul, is seen mid-flight
as it attempts to land on the nest inside my staircase window.

In a world where things aren’t always as they seem, it is key to search for the truth. What is reality? Where do we need to pull back the curtain of those things which seek to fool our eyes? What is under the mask in our relationships, our identity, our emotions? The principles and stories of the Bible help me put things in perspective and the God of the Bible, hidden or evident, continues to call us to trust that He is Immanuel—God With Us—ad olam. He is Adon Olam, The Lord of Vanishing Point Past to Vanishing Point Future. In every language of the world that will translate, “There is no other (Isaiah 45).” No mirage.

Enjoying the walk home,
Cindy

P.S. I will be in the US from April 21-June 3rd sharing stories of life in Israel. Stay tuned for my itinerary and follow me on Facebook. Looking forward to seeing many of you!