Since 1892, a workshop in Brussels has taught aspiring painters the technique of trompe d\u2019oeil. It\u2019s brutal work, the artists say \u2013 so why do people travel from all around the world to master it?<\/p>\n
One morning last February, in a chilly studio in Brussels, 28 people in white coats gathered to watch Sylvie Van der Kelen paint the sky. \u201cThe first touch of the brush is generally the best,\u201d said Van der Kelen as light, pink-tinged clouds began to appear. \u201cIt is preferable not to make revisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a few days this winter I was allowed to sit in on classes at the \u00c9cole Van der Kelen-Logelain, a mythologised painting school in Brussels that is unlike any other arts education institution in the world. Run by the same family since it was founded in 1892, the Van der Kelen course takes place every winter underneath its glass and wrought iron roof, extending out of the back of a gothic brick townhouse.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/f35fc51200a0cb713140899e86dc654aabea9490\/353_0_6139_4912\/master\/6139.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=600250f17c7418c234aa534063e2e4da\" "\\"Homework")
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