Soft light filters in through the arched doorway of a weathered Italian courtyard. Delicate ivy reaches for the sun, while green moss takes shelter beneath the damp stonework of an ornate marble fountain. Can you hear the water trickling, the melodic sound of a distant lute?

Annette’s 9x15 foot foyer provides her guests' first impression of her home. In order to make the experience truly memorable and inviting, she asked Michael Lee to re-create the sleepy elegance of a street in ancient Italy.

This project created particular challenges for the artist, who was called upon to create a seamless harmony between the room’s physical features and the fanciful imaginings of his brush.

Here an illusory marble fountain and potted cedar lend balance to a very real table and mirror.

A solid cast-iron planter and verdant branching ivy bring the outdoors in, connecting the foyer with the front walk. Stately Corinthian columns, expertly-laid masonry and other architectural details firmly establish the room’s time and place. Centuries vanish with each stroke of Michael Lee’s brush.

Note the subtle effect of the green moss growing in the damp recesses beneath the fountain. It’s the subtlest details that lend the greatest sense of weight to the story as it unfolds.

Here, Michael Lee has expertly molded light and shadow to create the illusion of depth and texture where it did not previously exist.

As timeworn as this whole room may seem, this venerable marble lion seems to have even more years behind him. Who knows what tales his silent tongue could tell?