{"id":269591,"date":"2026-02-05T21:25:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T21:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/269591\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T21:25:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T21:25:11","slug":"viral-painting-of-time-traveling-woman-holding-an-iphone-from-150-years-ago-has-been-explained-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/269591\/","title":{"rendered":"Viral painting of time-traveling woman \u2018holding an iPhone\u2019 from 150 years ago has been explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

This painting may make you double-take, as the 19th-century artwork looks like a time-traveling woman is quite literally holding an iPhone<\/a>. <\/p>\n

It all dates way back to 1860 when Austrian artist Ferdinand Georg Waldm\u00fcller put oil on canvas. <\/p>\n

However, the painting provides somewhat of a mystery with the inclusion of an object looking a lot like an Apple product. <\/p>\n

One man spotted the painting on a trip, and since then, countless theories have been added as to what the painting really shows.<\/p>\n

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This 1860 painting contains a woman looking at an iPhone<\/p>\n

The humble iPhone is the best invention to come out of 2007, but some people have spotted it appearing 147 years before the phone even existed.<\/p>\n

Let us take you back to 1860, when The Expected One was created by artist Ferdinand Georg Waldm\u00fcller. Because it contains a striking detail. <\/p>\n

\"Viral<\/a>By Ferdinand Georg Waldm\u00fcller \u2013 Photographer and uploader was Hajotthu at de.wikipedia, Public Domain<\/p>\n

The painting is of a woman walking through a woodland on a dirt path, but her attention is captivated by something she\u2019s holding in her hands. <\/p>\n

The small, black, rectangular object is held close to her chest, and her eyes are fixated on it, as a man kneels before her. <\/p>\n

The object, however, looks remarkably like an iPhone in her hands<\/a>, and the time-traveling woman sent people into a frenzy online.<\/p>\n

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Time-traveling woman or optical illusion?<\/p>\n

The illusion of the time-traveling<\/a> woman \u2018holding an iPhone\u2019 was spotted by Peter Russell, a retired Glasgow government officer, after he saw the painting on holiday.<\/p>\n

\"Viral<\/a>SB Media \/ Gemini<\/p>\n

The painting really does seem to depict people\u2019s actions of the 21st century, ever consumed by their mobile phones<\/a>, unaware of their surroundings. <\/p>\n

Speaking to Vice<\/a>, Russell explained his thoughts on the context of the time-traveling woman painting, decades after it was first painted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat strikes me most is how much a change in technology has changed the interpretation of the painting, and in a way has leveraged its entire context,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Although it\u2019s a nice idea that the iPhone appeared<\/a> over a century before it even appeared in the mind of Steve Jobs. But, sadly, the object isn\u2019t an iPhone after all.<\/p>\n

\"Viral<\/a>By Ferdinand Georg Waldm\u00fcller \u2013 Photographer and uploader was Hajotthu at de.wikipedia, Public Domain<\/p>\n

\u201cThe girl in this Waldm\u00fcller painting is not playing with her new iPhone X, but is off to church holding a little prayer book in her hands,\u201d Gerald Weinpolter, CEO of the art agency\u00a0Gerald Weinpolter, told Vice. <\/p>\n

You have to admit, the time-traveling woman does look like she\u2019s holding a shiny smartphone in her bare hands, but when common sense and general knowledge come into play, the reality is vastly different.<\/p>\n

Russell explained further that, in current times, many people would instantly assume that the woman was browsing Instagram or maybe even TikTok.<\/p>\n

But back in the 1800s, a hymn or prayer book in her hands would be the general consensus.<\/p>\n

So, time travel wasn\u2019t quite depicted in this situation; however, stranger things have been known to occur.<\/p>\n

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