Wednesday, August 12, 2015

'All is Vanity' by Charles Allen Gilbert


Charles Allan Gilbert (September 3, 1873 - April 20, 1929) was an American artist and illustrator. He is most remembered for the widely published illustration above titled 'All is Vanity' (1892). The illustration employs a double image where a woman sitting at a vanity admiring herself in a mirror also appears as a human skull when viewed from a distance or when blurring the eyes by squinting.

Interestingly, Gilbert created the image in 1892 when he was 18 years old but it did not receive recognition until 1902 when he sold the original to LIFE publishing. The image became wildly popular and is the most reproduced optical illusion in history.

Sandlotscience.com: All is Vanity
Wikipedia: Charles Allan Gilbert

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