Painting of woman from 1860 holding iPhone baffles internet. Details here

A painting from 1860 doing the rounds on the internet has baffled the netizens. A woman in the painting appears to be scrolling through her iPhone, something that was discovered only in 1860. The 162-year-old painting was created by Austrian artist Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller and is called The Expected One.

For an untrained mind of the digital age, at first glance, the woman in the painting appears to be scrolling on a smartphone, which makes absolutely no sense! However, art critics have come up with an answer to this illusion. According to experts, the woman in The Expected One is supposed to be reading a prayer book while taking a walk rather than scanning her social media.

Gerald Weinpolter, head of an Austrian art agency, commented that the painting shows a woman on her way to the church with a prayer book in her hand. Retired UK government officer, Peter Russell, was the first to bring the painting to light after he came across The Expected One on his visit to the Neue Pinakothek Museum in Munich.



Russell pointed out that the evolution in technology has changed our interpretation of art, which changes the original context. He also said that a viewer from the 19th century could have easily identified that the woman in the painting was reading a hymnal or a prayer book.

FAQs

1. What’s the name of the viral painting?
   The 162-year-old painting is called The Expected One, and was painted by Austrian artist Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller.
2. What is the woman in the painting holding?
   Despite what the internet claims, the woman is not holding a smartphone. Instead, she’s holding a prayer book on her way to the church.