# Optical Illusion with Portraits of Charles II and His Daughter Christine of Lorraine

[View the canonical artwork record](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/buti-lodovico-r97868c310d57ef/optical-illusion-with-portraits-of-charles-ii-and-his-daughter-christine-of-lorraine-r6bd805727d0c9f>)

## Artwork

- Artist: [BUTI, Lodovico](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/buti-lodovico-r97868c310d57ef>)
- Date: 1551-1600
- Technique: Oil on prismatic panels, glass, 82 x 112 cm

## Commentary

This is one of the few known examples of a painted optical illusion, obtained by fastening a panel composed of painted triangular, prismatic strips of wood to a framework. The pieces are arranged so that a portrait of Charles II of Lorraine appears when the panel is observed from above, looking downwards, or one of his daughters, the Grand Duchess Cristina \(Christine\), wife of Ferdinando I de&#39; Medici, if the object is viewed from below or using a special mirror.

## Related artworks

- [Forge with grotesques](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/buti-lodovico-r97868c310d57ef/forge-with-grotesques-rc24fe1a7a47770>)
- [Preparation of Gunpowder](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/buti-lodovico-r97868c310d57ef/preparation-of-gunpowder-r9b2f5517e4dbde>)
- [The Architect](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/buti-lodovico-r97868c310d57ef/the-architect-ra90dc8ecb36179>)

## Attribution

[Web Gallery of Art](<https://beta.wga.hu/pages/about>)