ART_ILLUSIONS

ILLUSIONS IN ART

SALVADOR DALI - THE SLAVE MARKET & DISAPPEARING BUST OF VOLTAIRE

In this painting by Dali he pictures a woman looking at a scene in the Slave Market where people interact in front of an arched doorway. The two figures dressed in black and white form the face (eyes, cheek bones, chin, & neck) of the French Philosopher Voltaire. The archway forms the top of his head. Dali was showing that if in real life people dressed just like this were in this exact position with this exact background, then just for an instant a distant person would be able to perceive the form of Voltaire's face, and of course it would disappear as soon as any of the people in the marketplace moved.

CHARLES ALLEN GILBERT - ALL IS VANITY

Charles Allen Gilbert, 1873-1929, painted one of the earliest versions of this picture. It shows a woman sitting at her vanity putting on makeup. From a distance the viewer sees a skull formed by the lady's head & her reflection. The skulls teeth are formed by the bottles of perfume & nail polish etc. sitting on the vanity table. Gilbert used the picture to play on the double meaning of the word "Vanity". A vanity is in one sense of the word a dressing table with a mirror. In another meaning of the word "vanity" means being too self-absorbed and concerned with one's looks. The title "All is Vanity" and the double image are meant to imply that being overly concerned with your own beauty is futile because when we die we will all look the same - nothing but a skull.