Painting from the 1860s seems to show a young woman using an iPhone

An 1860s “time travel” painting of a woman holding what appears to be an iPhone has left art lovers baffled.

The painting, called The Expected One, was created about 150 years ago by Ferdinand George Waldmüller.

The artwork is on display at the Neue Pinakothek Museum in Munich and was spotted by Peter Russell, a retired local government official in Glasgow.

It appears to show a woman in a 19th century dress holding a rectangular black object reminiscent of a 21st century mobile phone.

The young woman looks down at the object, which bears a remarkable resemblance to a scene that has become all too familiar these days – “distracted hikers” dominating trails with phones in their hands.

The famous painting first went viral in 2017 when users on social media joked that the woman was ignoring the man because she was swiping on a dating app.

But it has since resurfaced, with people discussing whether the painting is a sign of time travel.

She is painted walking along a rocky dirt track, while a kneeling man waits for her not far ahead with a pink flower in his hand.

She walks in the sun, while the man sits behind a corner in the shade.

According to the gallerythe painting is also known as ‘Sunday Morning’ and shows the two characters dressed in their Sunday attire.

As the boy waits for “his love” to arrive, the girl seems engrossed in her hymnal, leaving the viewer to wonder if his feelings will be reciprocated.

But one expert says she’s not holding a cell phone, but a hymnal, much more appropriate for the time.

Instead of focusing on the man with the flower in his hand, the young woman focused on her connection to God and religion.

“What strikes me most is how much a change in technology has changed the interpretation of the painting and, in a way, tapped into its entire context,” Russell said. Motherboard.

Users debated on Twitter whether the woman in the painting was holding an iPhone or a hymn book

The big change is that in 1850 or 1860 any viewer would have identified the item the girl is absorbed in as a hymnal or a prayer book.

“No one nowadays sees the resemblance to the scene of a teenage girl who is absorbed in social media on their smartphone.”

Users on Twitter debated what the object was – whether the painting was an iPhone or a prayer book.

One user wrote: ‘Originally my post was not that this photo is <150 years old. Looks a lot like ab****y iPhone, doesn't it?!"

Another wrote: ‘Time travel is real. She must be holding an iPhone in this 1860s painting.”

A third commented, “She watches TikTok. duh.’

Others were not convinced the young woman was holding an iPhone, saying it was a bible or prayer book instead

A fourth said: ‘The way her fingers are laced suggests she’s holding a phone. Holding it that way makes it easier to use both thumbs to type. It’s possible she’s upset that her phone is dying because she’s in 1860!’

But others were not so convinced and argued that it was indeed a prayer book.

One user argued and said, “A little bible.”

Another wrote, “I’m looking at the painting called The Expected One and really think it’s more likely she’s praying with her prayer book, not an iPhone!”

A third said, ‘It’s a prayer book. It’s not an iPhone.”