Julie Sillitoe, 49, from north London was killed when masonry fell on her minicab in Holborn.
The illusion, painted by Giovanni Francesco Marini, is so realistic one can almost hear the masonry falling.
In the end it turned out to be a piece of masonry falling from a nearby building's facade.
Social media footage taken by eyewitnesses at the scene showed what looked like molten glass and pieces of masonry falling down.
12.31pm GMT The 49-year old woman who died last night when masonry fell on her car in Holborn last night was a minicab driver, according to police.
A few years ago, aging masonry fell from the façade, forcing the team to hang wire netting to protect the crowd in the stands below.
The facade leaks water, and masonry falls off the sides of this big, old building, in a working-class neighborhood here.
Earlier this month, parts of the roof of St John the Baptist Church in Woodhurst, Cambridgeshire, collapsed, with masonry falling from the chancel, causing damage that will cost up to £40,000 to repair.
Examples include a chunk of masonry falling from the front facade several years ago and narrowly missing the Princess Royal's car and staff reportedly resorting to catching rainwater in buckets to save art works.
