Optical Illusions In Famous Works Of Art

10

'Arnolfini Portrait,' 1434 

Drama

Look closely at Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait to see the reflection of the foreground in the mirror on the wall. Also present in the convex mirror is the painter himself.  

9

'The Four Seasons,' 1573 

Drama

By incorporating flowers, leaves, fruits, and other natural features of each season, Giuseppe Arcimboldo created anthromoporphic representations of those very times of year.  

8

'The Librarian,' Circa 1570  

Drama

Giuseppe Arcimboldo experimented with everyday items, crafting them into portraits. This collection of books is a carefully constructed pile and, as the title suggests, a librarian. 

7

'A Young Man and a Young Woman Looking Through an Opening in a Wall,' Unknown Date  

Drama

Upon initial view, this print seems to show a man and a woman looking through a window. Take a broader look, and it's a human skull - complete with what appear to be teeth. 

6

'Frescoes in the Camera degli Sposi,' 1473

Drama

Andrea Mantegna transformed the ceiling of the Camera degli Sposi, or "Bridal Chamber," at the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua, Italy, into what appears to be a view of the heavens. 

5

'The Apotheosis of St. Ignatius,' 1690

Drama

As a work that changes the look of a ceiling into a multi-dimensional marvel, The Apotheosis of St. Ignatius by Andrea Pozzo makes it seem like figures are crawling down from above into the Church of St. Ignatius in Rome. 

4

'The Vegetable Gardener,' Circa 1590 

Drama

At first glance, Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo's The Vegetable Gardener looks like a bowl of vegetables. If you turn it upside down, the work of art morphs into the head of a man - presumably the gardener who grew and picked the vegetables. 

3

'Escaping Criticism,' 1874

Drama

Painter Pere Borrell del Caso's work Escaping Criticism gives the impression that a young boy is jumping through a frame, running away from whatever trouble follows him. 

2

'Landscape Shaped Like a Face,' 1600

Drama

One of Wenceslaus Hollar's numerous etchings, Landscape Shaped Like a Face incorporates rocks, water, trees, and the like to transform a simple piece of land into the profile of an old man. 

1

'All Is Vanity,' 1892

Drama

Artist Charles Allan Gilbert's All Is Vanity channels the titular line from the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. 

Thanks For Reading

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