Trompe-l’Œil Mural of Place de la Motte

The fresco in Place de la Motte is a tribute to the history of the neighborhood and the city. The integration into the environment is remarkable, incorporating architectural details such as the half-timbering and the color of the granite. Revealed before our eyes are the evocation of the great fire of 1864, Auguste Renoir born in Limoges, the feudal mound and its ponds, the city's mint, and more current reminders such as the epic basketball game and the jazz festival!

For 20 years, the fresco on Place de la Motte in Limoges has been deceiving passers-byInitiated by Cobaty Limoges at the end of the last century, the trompe-l'oeil fresco on Place de la Motte is a summary of the city's history.For the uninitiated eye of a passing tourist, there is no doubt that the Cobaty fresco is an effective trap. Walking along the covered market on Place de la Motte, without knowing the deception, it is difficult not to believe that there are two buildings opposite, separated by a narrow alleyway that seems to be hidden by a long stage curtain. And this is perhaps where the illusion is revealed: it is a trompe-l'oeil, and the curtain that extends has many things to say.Maurice Bordes, president of Cobaty Limoges at the time the fresco was created, is responsible for the explanation. "The idea was first to create a perspective on a flat wall. So there is this impression of an alley between two buildings, an alley in which entertainers have set up shop and are rehearsing their numbers." And that is how a stage curtain is erected, showing striking images of the city, both historical and cultural.There, the castle of the Viscounts of Limoges on its motte, here a Limousin cow, elsewhere the Moulin du Got, and so many other details contemplated by a child of the ball (orange), yellow and purple cap, the colors of the CSP at the time, screwed on his head. On each side, two buildings rise up perfectly in trompe-l'oeil and also allow references to the city to appear at their windows, such as Renoir in his works or the flames of the terrible fire of 1864.Created to make Cobaty known to the general public, this fresco has managed the feat of pleasing almost unanimously, an exercise that is oh so difficult when you modify public space, as Maurice Bordes reminds us. But what is the former president's favorite element in this fresco? "What I like is the perspective created. What I prefer is perhaps in fact what we don't see, what we imagine behind the curtain."

Anecdote concerning the fresco:While discussions between Cobaty and the owners of the façade were long, a favorable outcome seemed to appear in 1994 with the signing of an agreement.But at the last moment, the owner of the jewelry store concerned by the project refused to see above her establishment a naked woman, the one posing for the painter Renoir. "Rest assured, madam, we will put a veil on her chest," the members of Cobaty cleverly retorted.The agreement was saved and the fresco could take shape. However, on closer inspection, it seems that the painter's talents gave him a sufficiently keen vision to draw his model without said veil.A nice trick.