Watch the video: Optical Illusion – Oil painting has amazed people for almost 500 years.
This optical illusion has been delighting people for almost 500 years. Hans Holbein the Younger was one of the most important Renaissance painters. In 1533 he painted this oil painting called The Messengers. Looking at the picture from the front it looks like there is a huge blob on the ground. Looking at the artwork from a different angle and rotating the picture clockwise, the stain turns out to be a skull. The technique is called anamorphosis. The motif is only recognizable from a very specific point. From other angles the picture does not reveal its desired effect. Art historians believe that Hans Holbein wanted to remind of mortality with his motif.