Saturday, July 16, 2011

The Art of the Antique Skull Illusion




During the 1800s and 1900s, death was marked and observed in a way we don't see now. It wasn't hidden or shushed, and it's very fair to say it was an accepted part of everyday life and their was quite a lot of ritual associated with it. Depending on the era (Victorians, we're looking at you), one could say it wasn't uncommon to be fascinated with it.

This fascination with death begat the popularization of skull optical illusions; art in pictures and postcards that at first seem to be fairly common scenes, but on second glance actually form the image of a skull or death head.

I've always founds these images delightful, lovely, and fascinating myself.




































I love how the scenes are so serene and beautiful, and yet form an image so associated with darkness and death. The contrast is gorgeous.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

6 comments:

  1. That reminds me... there's this Dutch accessories webshop called poppenkraal.nl. And they also sell a brooch with an image like this. *runs off to go buy it*

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  2. All your photo links are broken when clicked on! It's a shame, because most of them are so small I can't see the details, only the skulls.

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  3. Those are amazing. People sure knew how to make death pretty, back in the day.

    BTW, just found your blog and I'm loving it. Always good to find fellow fans of Morbid Anatomy! :D

    xx

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  4. @asilverling: They're not broken, they were posted from my phone using BlogPress, so essentially there is no actual link. BlogPress also re-sizes things smalls sadly. It'll all be fixed when I have a new computer. Until then, tiny pics unfortunately.

    :)

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  5. stunning and creepy at the same time

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