Saturday, June 27, 2009

Sunday, uh, Image: A re-imagined replica of a reputedly real relic

We inherited this picture from my wife's grandparents after they died (many years ago). At the picture's bottom is inscribed:

14 colors were used to achieve this effect.
This picture is also known as "St. Veronica's Handkerchief" and is a copy of the celebrated painting by Gabriel Max, an Austrian, who was born in 1840. The original painting, valued at $25,000, is in a private collection in Prague, Austria. His best known work in America is "The Last Token" in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

But it also says: "If you watch the eyes closely, they will suddenly open!"

It's never worked for me, but maybe it will for you. You might want to click on the picture to enlarge it before trying.

8 comments:

Beth Impson said...

Whoa, Bill, they do! About freaked me out! But I do often find both pictures in optical illusions . . .

Lydia McGrew said...

When I look at it small, precisely because I'm not seeing it very clearly, I can interpret the eyes as being open. When I enlarge it, I simply see it more clearly, and the eyes are definitely closed.

Visual illusions rarely work for me anyway, though, because I don't have depth perception, and a lot of illusions in paintings and such depend on the viewer's having stereoscopic vision.

Ellyn said...

It was more of a slow morphing than a sudden opening. Cool.

Antiques Roadshow???

William Luse said...

Beth, the picture always freaked out my kids too. I guess they saw what you saw.

Lydia, no depth perception? How do you drive a car?

"Antiques Roadshow?" Hah.

Lydia McGrew said...

Verrry carefully. And not often at night. And not on the highway. But when it's been this way all your life, you're used to it. Imagine if you had only one eye. It's a bit like that. You'd learn to drive a car that way. You just might not be as good at it as other people.

William Luse said...

When you find yourself standing at the edge of a seaside cliff, just don't imagine that you can walk on the water.

smockmomma said...

okay, the eyes were open as soon as i looked at it...so for me, i suppose they gradually closed. bizarre, but coolmoe, nonetheless.

William Luse said...

I'm getting weirded out. People are seeing different things.