There's nothing the internet loves more than a good old optical illusion, and we've had our brains fried by many a visual head-scratcher over the years. But none have been quite as sinister as this painting, which contains three different images in one.
At first glance, it looks like a fairly standard painting of a contemplative fisherman, albeit one with a curiously asymmetrical face. But when each side of that face is mirrored, we end up with two entirely different takes on the original painting. (Check out our top painting techniques if you're inspired to pick up a brush.)
The original, seemingly innocent painting (Image credit: Wikipedia Commons)
1902's Az Öreg Halász (The Old Fisherman) by Hungarian artist Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka can be mirrored in one of two ways, to reveal either a kindly-looking man in prayer, or a much more sinister depiction of the devil, complete with horns and a red face.
All three versions of the painting (Image credit: Wikipedia Commons/Future owns)
According to Hungary Today, the painting "shows us the bipolarity of human being, the good and the bad faces of us". And it's currently going down a storm on Reddit, with users loving the concept. "Very talented to be able to embed three images into one, I'd love to know how the hell he did it," one comments, while another simply adds, "What is this sorcery?!".
Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles. He has interviewed leaders and designers at brands including Apple, Microsoft and Adobe. Daniel's debut book of short stories and poems was published in 2018, and his comedy newsletter is a Substack Bestseller.
