Gombrich’s Schema Theory and the Perception of Salvador Dali’s Paintings: A Focus on Visual Illusion and Trompe-l’œil Techniques

Afarin, Farideh

doi:10.22034/bagh.2025.526917.5830

Gombrich’s Schema Theory and the Perception of Salvador Dali’s Paintings: A Focus on Visual Illusion and Trompe-l’œil Techniques

https://doi.org/10.22034/bagh.2025.526917.5830

Volume 22, Issue 150
December 2025

Pages 25-38

The Monthly Scientific Journal of Bagh-e Nazar

Document Type : Original Research Article

Author

Farideh Afarin

Department of Art Studies, Semnan University, Iran

Abstract

Problem statement: This study explores how viewers’ perception of Salvador Dali’s paintings are shaped through the lens of Ernst Gombrich’s schema theory and its correction mechanisms, with particular attention to visual illusions and Trompe-l’œil techniques. These conceptual tools are drawn from Gombrich’s seminal work Art and Illusion and are examined in relation to Dali’s surrealist imagery.
Research objective: Dali’s complex illusionistic skills and Trompe-l’œil techniques go beyond conventional perception by introducing unconventional elements that challenge familiar schemas. This research aims to answer these questions: How do selected Dali’s Paintings disrupt schematic expectations through illusionistic skills and Trompe-l’œil techniques, thereby shaping viewer perception? To address this question, the study draws on Gombrich’s emphasis on illusional and optical strategies as mechanisms for confronting mental schemas.
Research method: This research adopts a descriptive-analytical approach. Five selected paintings were examined to determine how schematic structures influence and reshape viewers’ perception.
Conclusion: The study of Dali’s paintings from the 1940s reveals that his most significant tools for challenging perceptual schemata are his illusionistic skills and trompe-l’œil techniques. By employing visual deception, double-faced images, reflections, transformations of objects, metamorphoses, mergers, and the creation of strange and innovative compositions—alongside enigmatic uses of shadows, unconventional angles, and anomalous depths—Dali destabilizes the viewer’s mental schemata. He traps the audience at the threshold between reality and dream. Accordingly, Dali’s endeavor goes beyond mere perceptual play. He uses these devices to stimulate the viewer’s imagination, and produce semantic multiplicity. The viewer is compelled to actively participate in the process of perceiving and interpreting the artwork. In Dali’s paintings, the use of illusionistic techniques and trompe-l’œil intensifies over time. As time progresses, these methods increasingly serve the purpose of meaning-making, moving beyond visual trickery toward deeper conceptual engagement.

Keywords

Surrealist Painting

Salvador Dali

Ernst Gombrich

Visual Illusion

Trompe-l&‌‌‌‌rsquo

&‌‌‌‌oelig

il Techniques

Viewers&‌‌‌‌rsquo

Perception.

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