History Main / StandInPortrait

* In ''FromRussiaWithLove'' some of the scenes featuring Rosa Klebb had to be reshot after the set was struck. The solution was to blow up a still frame from the existing footage and film the reshoot with the actress standing in front of her own image.

* In ''JurassicPark III'', a raptor stands behind a glass tube to pretend he's one of the dead test subjects.

* ''IndianaJones and the Temple of Doom'', a Thuggee in the shadows pretends to be part of the mural in Indy's room before attacking him.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/KimPossible http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/standinportrait.png]]]]

[[quoteright: WesternAnimation/KimPossible http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/standinportrait.png]]

[[WesternAnimation/KimPossible http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/standinportrait.png]]

[[caption-width:200:Don't Call the Portraits Creepy.]]
->''Who puts a picture frame on a window?!''
-->-'''Candace,''' WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb

[[KimPossible http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/standinportrait.png]]

-->-'''Candace,''' PhineasAndFerb

* Yoh does this in ''CryingFreeman''. In this case, he was actually standing in for a painting of himself, and it was on an easel, not a wall, so he just switched in an empty frame and stood behind it with the lights off. He only does it to fool police watching from outside, and once an actual person entered the room, she quickly noticed something was off and turned the lights on.

* Spoofed in the ''{{Scrubs}}'' episode ''My Jiggly Ball'' when Kelso tries to hide as a himself in a mural. He refuses to break cover even when Cox points out he is 3 dimensional and then physically grabs him.

* In an episode of TheITCrowd, Moss and Roy do this, not to a hide a person behind a picture frame, but to ''[[RefugeInAudacity hide a fire behind a monitor frame]]''.

* ''TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'' has a puzzle based on this trope: In order to convince a local innkeeper that he's a member of the Goodsoup family, Guybrush has to take a painting of one of the Goodsoups, cut out the face, paste the remains of the painting on a door with a porthole, and peek his head in through the other side of the porthole as the innkeeper arrives to admire his paintings. Lampshaded subtly in that the innkeeper says he feels as if the painting's eyes are following him, à la the Mona Lisa.

* ''PhineasAndFerb'': The opening theme features Phineas painting a mustache on Candace's portrait, but it turns out to be Candace herself.

* ''TheSimpsons'': In the episode "Double, Double Boy in Trouble", Bart comments on a poster of Joe Montana, but it turns out to be Joe Montana standing in a hole in the wall.

* ''KimPossible'': In the episode "Graduation", Ron comments on an ugly portrait in Killigan's castle, only to find out the portrait really is Killigan.

* ''The Curse of MonkeyIsland'' has a puzzle based on this trope: In order to convince a local innkeeper that he's a member of the Goodsoup family, Guybrush has to take a painting of one of the Goodsoups, cut out the face, paste the remains of the painting on a door with a porthole, and peek his head in through the other side of the porthole as the innkeeper arrives to admire his paintings. Lampshaded subtly in that the innkeeper says he feels as if the painting's eyes are following him, à la the Mona Lisa.

* Envy stands in front of her own poster at the coffee bar in {{Film/Scott Pilgrim}}.

* In an episode of TheITCrowd, Moss and Roy do this, not to a hide a person behind a picture frame, but to [[RefugeInAudacity ''hide a fire behind a monitor frame'']].
** --> "Nice screen saver!"

* The film adaptation of ''Film/WildWildWest'': Not really justified, but then ''[[SoBadItsHorrible nothing]]'' [[SoBadItsHorrible in this movie is really justified]].

->''Why would you put a picture frame around a window?!''
-->- PhineasAndFerb

* There's an inversion in a couple of ReneMagritte paintings, where the painting within a painting depicts a scene precisely matching what's behind it (right down to the positions of clouds, which shouldn't match because they move). But hey... it's really just ''one painting'', get it?

* Spoofed in the ''{{Scrubs}}'' episode ''My Jiggly Ball'' when Kelso tries to hide as a doctor in a mural. He refuses to break cover even when Cox points out he is 3 dimensional and then physically grabs him.

* This has been used in at least one CreepyPasta.

* ''IndianaJones and the Temple of Doom'', a Thuggee pretends to be part of a painting in Indy's room before attacking him.

[[AC:Comics]]

* In a subversion, the SovietUnion edited the disgraced LeonTrotsky out of old propaganda films by back-projecting and re-photographing the scenes where he appeared with a non-lookalike actor standing in front of his image to block it out.

See also NobodyHereButUsStatues, MirrorRoutine.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* ''PhineasAndFerb'': The opening theme features Phineas painting a mustache on Candace's portrait, but it turns out to be Candace herself.
** In the episode "Fireside Girls Jamboree", Candace makes a snarky comment about the portrait of Elisa M. Fireside, but Ms. Fireside gets out and berates her. Candace even gets the opportunity to lampshade the trope.
* ''TheSimpsons'': In the episode "Double, Double Boy in Trouble", Bart comments on a poster of Joe Montana, but it turns out to be Joe Montana standing in a hole in the wall.
* ''KimPossible'': In the episode "Graduation", Ron comments on an ugly portrait in Killigan's castle, only to find out the portrait really is Killigan.
* DaffyDuck/Porky Pig short ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daffy_Doodles Daffy Doodles]]'': Daffy is the "Mustache Fiend", who goes around drawing mustaches on pictures. Porky Pig is a cop who tries to catch him by holding up a picture frame in front of his face and pretending to be a picture. Watch it [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMDL5jOH58U here, starting at 1:50]].
* In the BugsBunny short ''The Hair-Raising Hare'', the orange monster (now known as Gossamer) does the PortraitPaintingPeephole bit, but Bugs catches on and gives him a poke in the eye. Then Bugs stands in for a portrait, which gives the monster a chance to get even... only Bugs beats him to the punch and pokes him again.

[[AC:FineArt]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* ''The Curse of MonkeyIsland'' has a puzzle based on this trope: In order to convince a local innkeeper that he's a member of the Goodsoup family, Guybrush has to take a painting of one of the Goodsoups, cut out the face, paste the remains of the painting on a door with a porthole, and peek his head in through the other side of the porthole as the innkeeper arrives to admire his paintings. Lampshaded subtly in that the innkeeper says he feels as if the painting's eyes are following him, à la the Mona Lisa.

[[AC:Comics]]
* One ''JosieAndThePussycats'' story had this. The Pussycats visit an art museum. they take a moment to comment on a portrait of what Melody calls 'an ugly guy'. After they leave, it is revealed that the 'portrait' is actually a real man standing behind an empty frame, who is unamused.

* Daffy Duck/Porky Pig short ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daffy_Doodles Daffy Doodles]]'': Daffy is the "Mustache Fiend", who goes around drawing mustaches on pictures. Porky Pig is a cop who tries to catch him by holding up a picture frame in front of his face and pretending to be a picture. Watch it [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMDL5jOH58U here, starting at 1:50]].
* In the Characters/BugsBunny short ''The Hair-Raising Hare'', the orange monster (now known as Gossamer) does the PortraitPaintingPeephole bit, but Bugs catches on and gives him a poke in the eye. Then Bugs stands in for a portrait, which gives the monster a chance to get even... only Bugs beats him to the punch and pokes him again.

* ''IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'', a Thuggee pretends to be part of a painting in Indy's room before attacking him.

* Spoofed in ''{{Scrubs}}'' when Kelso tries to hide as a doctor in a mural. He refuses to break cover even when Cox points out he is 3 dimensional and then physically grabs him.

* In ''{{Wall-E}}'', the captain hides from AUTO (momentarily) by standing in front of his own portrait. Just before this, he lures AUTO out by standing in front of a hologram of the plant, pretending that he has it.
** Partially justified in the case of the plant, as AUTO can only see it through a fixed camera, and thus has no depth perception.

See also NobodyHereButUsStatues.