Everyone gathered to see what was so fascinating about this particular piece of art. It was unlike anything they had ever seen before. The artist’s image had a hidden aura about it and people were captivated. The artist behind this art form was Hans Holbein, the Younger who painted The Ambassadors, displayed in London’s National Gallery.
The acclaimed artist hid a distorted skull inside the painting that people could only make out if viewed from a certain angle. Artists called this art form anamorphosis, the art of concealing images within a deformed painting. Later in history, this art form would expose the world to the Secret Portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie.  

What is Anamorphosis Art? 
Art lovers would tell you that it is the artist’s way of getting intimate with viewers. However, not everyone can tell what message the artist is trying to portray through his painting, as it’s distorted. In fact, most people, during that era, used special devices to view the image more closely. Most importantly, people used anamorphosis to deliver secret messages from person to person.

Anamorphosis—the Secrecy behind the Art 
Rebellion, allegiance to the opposition, and standing up against the current regime was done in secrecy amongst a group of individuals sworn to protect the cause. This was hugely popular in the Renaissance era where officials forbid people to indulge in any form of sorcery or dark arts. Furthermore, artists came up with two ways to express their creativity. One of them was widely used by people, perspective (oblique) and mirror (catoptric).

Oblique anamorphosis creates an unconventional image, which the viewer can’t view unless specifically told to from a certain position. A famous example of this technique is on the curved ceiling of the Church of Saint Ignazio in Rome, painted by Andrea Pozzo.
Through the painting he depicted Saint Ignatius descending into heaven. Soon after, artists began using a different technique to depict images, the distorted technique called mirror anamorphosis.

Mirror anamorphosis transforms a flat deformed picture into a three-dimensional picture using a cylindrical mirror placed on the drawing. Therefore, artists began to paint pictures that couldn’t be viewed with a naked eye, but were only viewable with the help of a mirror. This technique swept through England in 1746, the time of Bonnie Prince Charlie.

When you stare at the picture for about ten seconds you eyes adjust to this negative image and then the picture changes to black and white but you don't see it as black and white you see it in full color. Amazing!

Have you ever seen an optical illusion? Of course you have you're on Optical spy. Maybe an image of never-ending stairs that seem to merge into one another at different angles and all lead to the same way, over and over again!

Most optical illusions are tricks of the mind and depend upon how you perceive the image you are seeing. An optical illusion is an occurrence where you perceive and see an image that is an illusion; you see a virtual reality that exists only in your mind.

In general, optical illusions are of three types, but here, we will discuss only the physiological illusions that occur as physical responses of the eye’s exposure to light, and other stimuli.

What Are Physiological Illusions? 
When we look at a bright light bulb for a long period of time and then look away at a dark surface, we can clearly see the imprint of the light bulb in front of our eyes. This is the physiological illusion that our eyes create when they are over exposed to the stimuli of lights.

Thus, all such after-images that flood our vision after our eyes have been stimulated with a stimulus, are known as physiological illusions.

Cause of Physiological Illusions 
Physiological illusions are caused by a wide variety of stimuli, out of which the most common ones are brightness, movement, tilt, color, position, and size. These stimuli send messages to the brain and create an impact that can be seen even when you have taken your eyes off the image itself. Just like the bright after images seen after staring at a light source for long durations, similarly, even starting at a pattern can cause you to visualize it in continuous succession even when you have stopped looking at the image itself.

The theoretical reasoning behind physiological illusions is that certain images send stimuli to our brain using fixed neural paths. Thus, when you continue to stare at the image for a longer duration, your eyes are repeatedly receiving stimuli from the image that is being transmitted to the brain via the same neural path over and over again. This is what creates a pattern or imprint in front of your eyes and hence, when you remove the image from your line of vision, you can still see it in front of your eyes.

A physiological illusion is thus, considered to be a physiological imbalance that actually alters and changes your perception, making you see images that are not present in front of you. You can even see the physiological illusion when you close your eyes as the world becomes dark behind your eyelids.

Physiological Illusions and Art 
As most techniques of illusions, physiological illusions are also greatly used within the works of art of various past artists. People from many genres and styles of painting have made the most of illusion artwork by creating images that stimulate the eye and create long lasting illusions.

The use of bright colors and alternating patterns helps these talented individuals in creating vivid pictures that come alive in people’s eyes with the help of a physiological illusion.

The architects of the Parthenon adjusted the plans so that the major lines of any significant building are rarely straight. The most obvious adjustment is to the profile of columns, which narrow from base to top. However, the narrowing is not regular, but gently curved so that each columns appears to have a slight swelling, called entasis below the middle. But this entasis is never so pronounced as to make the swelling wider than the base; it is controlled by a slight reduction in the rate of decrease of diameter.

Image Credits - Unknown

Optical illusions are everywhere, and in this digital era, we see skilled photographers using amazing cameras techniques and equipment to shoot photos that are modifying the scales of two objects, making one smaller than the other; to create an amazing whole picture.

However, do you know what this camera technique is called and what is its origin? Find out more below.

Forced Perspective 
The technique of forcing people to perceive objects in a different manner than is possible in reality is actually an art form known as 'forced perspective'. The technique of forced perspective has been around for quite a while and has been used throughout history by various artists to make their work come to life and become truly unique.

The trick behind this art form is to scale objects to different sizes so that a sense of depth can be created and perceived within the paintings.
Forced perspective plays with the visual perception of humans and creates an optical illusion that is life-like, making it seem like reality.

Types of Forced Perspective 
Employing forced perspective, an artist can make objects seem larger, smaller, nearer, or farther than they truly are, creating an illusion within a picture. For instance, two people of equal height may be depicted at varying depths in the canvas; making one seem taller and closer than the other.

Additionally, the use of forced perspective can also merge two objects with each other within a picture or bend the laws of gravity to show people walking on the surface of water or sitting on air.

Although forced perspective does not create the illusion of three-dimensional objects, it is still a highly used art form that has been able to trick people into believing impossible occurrences and pictures.

However, art is not the only way to display the technique of forced perspective. Filmmaking, photography, architecture, and art, all have an equal share in the development of this technique.

Forced Perspective in History 
Forced perspective is a form that was commonly used by the Greeks in architecture. Simply by creating their columns to be narrower at the top rather than at the bottom, allowed them to provide the illusion of a higher and vast space to their structures. This technique is also used in theatres today to depict a larger space in the interior.

As mentioned previously, in spite of the wide use of forced perspective in art forms over time, today, the technique is being used in photography and films to create optical illusions that are unbelievable.

Some of the most common forced perspectives of today’s time include:

•  People holding the sun or moon in their hands
•  People touching a famous landmark or holding it in their hands
•  A person walking on water or standing on air, defying the laws of gravity
• One person holding another smaller person in their hands

Forced perspective as an art is clearly seen in historically famous paintings, where it creates believable illusions. This technique, though modified continues in today’s world, fooling people into believing in the impossible.