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Optical illusions & the art of seeing

Explore optical illusions, impossible objects and illusion art with pictures, viewing instructions and explanations. Follow the science and history behind each example, from classic visual puzzles to fractals and camouflage in nature and human design.

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The collection

Equal central disks surrounded by circular outlines of different diameters.

Delboeuf rings

Joseph Delboeuf

A surrounding ring changes the apparent size of a disk.

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Three disks with wedges removed, arranged to suggest the sides of an undrawn triangle.

Kanizsa triangle

Gaetano Kanizsa

A triangle with edges that nobody drew.

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Impossible cube — A familiar cube frame acquires an impossible set of overlaps.

Impossible cube

M. C. Escher; modern redraw by 4C and Belbury

A familiar cube frame acquires an impossible set of overlaps.

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A black-and-white photograph of a woman holding her hands around her eyes and mouth, used in a positive afterimage demonstration.

Positive Afterimages

Origin not specified in the source article

When your eyes are closed and covered again, you should continue to experience the view through the window, or the lamp, or the computer screen, which will likely fade away quickly. This…

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The Vegetable Gardener — A bowl of vegetables becomes a face when the image is turned upside down.

The Vegetable Gardener

Giuseppe Arcimboldo

A bowl of vegetables becomes a face when the image is turned upside down.

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A black-and-white photograph of a ventriloquist speaking beside his puppet.

Spatial Ventriloquism Illusion

The spatial ventriloquism illusion is extremely popular, as numerous ventriloquist shows attest. Below is a video taken from Paul Zerdin's Youtube channel. In 2015, Zerdin won America's Got Talent with his ventriloquist act.

When viewing the video, you should experience the voice as coming from the puppet, even though the source of the sound is actually the puppeteer.

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Original plan-view diagram of Pepper’s Ghost: a hidden figure is reflected in angled glass, appearing as a virtual figure on the visible stage.

Pepper’s Ghost

Henry Dircks and John Henry Pepper

A figure appears on an empty stage, transparent enough for the scenery to show through. Its real source is hidden elsewhere.

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A pale blue drawing of connected corners whose locally plausible edges cannot form a consistent solid.

Impossible Corners

Oscar Reutersvärd (1915 - 2002), Swedish graphic artist

You should experience a sense of perceptual confusion as you note the paradoxical nature of the corners.

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An animated red-and-green ring with striped surfaces whose apparent depth can reverse.Moving image

Ambiguous Ring

Donald E. Simanek

You should experience a sense of perceptual confusion as you note the paradoxical nature of the depicted ring.

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Bezold Effect — The same red changes character when surrounded by black or white.

Bezold Effect

Wilhelm von Bezold

The same red changes character when surrounded by black or white.

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A concave mask photographed or animated to demonstrate apparent convexity.

Hollow-face illusion

Longstanding demonstration; studied by Richard Gregory & others

A hollow face can look like a face turned toward you.

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Impossible chair — A digitally altered chair gives its supports contradictory connections.

Impossible chair

TipFox

A digitally altered chair gives its supports contradictory connections.

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Enlarged image from the selected gallery entry