Optical Illusions pictures

Examples of optical illusions webpage

Literal optical illusions

Create images that are different from the objects that make them.
Paintings that do this are called trompe l'oeil (fool the eye).
Guiseppe Arcimboldo (1527-1593) produced wonderful paintings using this.
Click on the picture for a larger version.

Waiter by Guiseppe Arcimboldo

Vertumnus by Guiseppe Arcimboldo

Summer by Guiseppe Arcimboldo

Librarian by Guiseppe Arcimboldo

Jurist by Guiseppe Arcimboldo

Physiological illusions

Excessive stimulation of colour, size, position, tilt, movement

Hermann grid illusion - the dots aren't there!

Cognitive illusion

These are the result of unconscious inferences.
You see a simple pictures
and your brain tries to understand it,
but makes the wrong decision.
Cognitive illusions divide into smaller groups.

Distorting illusion

The brain get something wrong - size, length, position or curvature.

Cafe wall - The grey lines are parallel, horizontal, and straight:

The black lines are straight.

The circles do not overlap.

Ambiguous illusion

Picture which can be looked at in more than once way.

Is this a lady sitting down, or a skull?

Paradox or impossible illusions

A picture shows something impossible in real life.

The Penrose triangle:

M E Escher's impossible staircase.

Fiction illusion

Here, the brain sees something that isn't there!

Squares A and B are same colour.

William Hogarth (1697–1764) - Satire on "False Perspective".
It is full of impossibilities.
Click on picture for a larger version.

A giant 3D street art installation of the Temple of Medinet Habu in the Lion Yard, brought to life by 3D street artist Joe Hill of 3D Joe & Max in partnership with the Fitzwilliam Museum.

And finally, a comment from social media....

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