The Magic Eye of Van Gogh

Does anyone remember the craze that was Magic-Eye in the 90s? In case you don't, Magic-Eye was a group that produced and sold stereo graph images that projected certain images from and image by way of depth perception. If they haven't made it to Goodwill in a recent drop-off, I probably have about 15 of their books. Despite Magic Eye being, as Linda Danko would put it, awesome, I'm here to report that with the help of X-rays, the art world just experienced a little Magic Eye of its own.

The 90s craze that was Magic Eye.

It was reported last week a previously unknown portrait of a woman by Vincent van Gogh has been revealed in a high-tech look beneath another of his paintings, entitled "Patch of Grass", painted by Van Gogh in Paris in 1887. Van Gogh was known to paint over his work several times and it was known that something was there already. After researchers at the Delft Institute of Technology conducted a new technique of improved X-ray radiography that is being used to reveal concealed layers of other famous paintings, behind the painting they found, done mostly in greens and blues, is a portrait of a woman rendered in browns and reds.

Now you see it.



And now you don't

This reconstruction of his work is enabling art historians to understand Van Gogh's evolution better. And more importantly paving the way to understand even more historical works of art.