anamorphic art mirrors


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anamorphis is a form of art that was first experimented
with during the renaissance and became particularly popular
during the victorian era.
it involves distorting an image so that it is unrecognisable
unless viewed in the right way.
for example, hans holbein's (german, 1497/8-1543)
‘the ambassadors’ , today at the national gallery in london,
contains a skull (symbolising the transience of life) that has
been grossly stretched.
beginning in the 17th century, artists painted even more
severely distorted pictures, leaving a round circle in the middle.
when a tubular or conical mirror was placed there,
it reconstituted the picture so that you could see what it really
was.



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myths, history and typologies

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humans and mirrors