This painting is titled The Ambassadors. It was painted by Hans Holbein the Younger in 1533 and depicts the aristocrats Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_de_Dinteville">Jean de Dinteville</a> (on the left) was the French ambassador to England whose motto was Memento mori, or "Remember, you will die." His friend <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_de_Selve">Georges de Selve</a> had just been appointed Bishop of Lavaur when the painting was commissioned. The painting now hangs in the National Gallery in London. While there are quite a few interesting objects in the picture, all of which have meaning, what's that on the floor? At first glance, it looks like a sword. Or maybe a piece of wood. It's actually an optical illusion of a type called anamorphosis. This video will make it clear.

Read more about the illusion at <a href="https://www.creativebloq.com/news/oldest-optical-illusion-holbein">Creative Bloq</a>. If you're interested, you can explore the symbolism of the other objects in the painting <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ambassadors_(Holbein)">at Wikipedia</a>. -via <a href="https://www.damninteresting.com/curated-links/">Damn Interesting</a>&nbsp; #illusion #anamorphosis