Anamorphic Art: Images That Morph Before Your Eyes

newscientist.com — An anamorphic image is one that can only be interpreted when viewed from a particular angle or through a transforming optical device like a mirror.



The Ambassadors (1533) by Hans Holbein the Younger

The skull in this painting (best seen standing to the right of it), hanging in the National Gallery in London is regarded as the most famous piece of anamorphic art, but the anamorphism is not immediately obvious and many people need to be told where to look to find it.

When the painting was first in the possession of the National Gallery, it took some years before anyone solved the puzzle of the "splodge" in the front of it, appearing to spoil an otherwise detailed painting.
Many sixteenth century European portraits include skulls as reminders of death

Copyright: The National Gallery, London

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