Back to the future! People are convinced that there is an iPhone and Nike sneakers in these 350-year-old paintings
Some say that art imitates life, but what if, according to some, it could also predict the future?
That’s what some fans believe about two portraits by Dutch masters showing modern constructions, even though they thought they were painted 350 years ago.
An 18th-century scene by Dutch Golden Age painter Pieter de Hooch, on display at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, has resurfaced after some fans pointed out what appears to be a messenger holding what appears to be an Apple iPhone, too. though they thought the thing didn’t see the light of day until 2007.
Meanwhile, some fans were baffled after a mother and daughter duo spotted what they thought looked like a pair of Nike sneakers in Portrait of Frederick Sluysken, by Ferdinand Bol, on display at London’s National Gallery.
The Gallery weighed in and asked people on Twitter if they could also see the shoe – which was invited in the late 1970s – in 18th-century painting.
An 18th-century scene by Dutch Golden Age painter Pieter de Hooch, on display at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, has resurfaced after some fans pointed out what appears to be a messenger holding something resembling an Apple iPhone
Could this be a smartphone? The painting even caused Apple CEO Tim Cook to joke that he wasn’t sure when the iPhone was invented anymore
Pieter Hooch’s scene shows a woman sitting in a corridor with a widow, who receives a letter from a courier.
But some bystanders said the letter in the painting eerily resembles a modern-day smartphone, leading some to question whether de Hooch, who was born in 1629, predicted the future.
People on Twitter shared the photo, with some wondering how a smartphone managed to find its way into a painting created 350 years ago.
It’s not the first time de Hooch’s work has come under the spotlight because of this funny detail.
In 2016, Tim Cook, the current CEO of Apple, claimed to have seen the smartphone in the 28th-century painting while touring the Amsterdam museum.
“There was an iPhone in one of the paintings. It’s hard to see, but I swear it’s there,” he joked at a press conference at the time.
“I used to think I knew when the iPhone was invented, but now I’m not so sure,” Cook said with a wink.
Recently, a painting by another Dutch master came into the limelight to show off what appeared to be a modern pair of sports shoes.
Some fans were baffled after a mother and daughter duo saw what they thought looked like a pair of Nike sneakers in Portrait of Frederick Sluysken, by Ferdinand Bol
Portrait of Frederik Sluysken, on display in the National Gallery, shows the eight-year-old son of a wine merchant in an elegant black outfit, with matching shoes.
But during a visit to the museum in late May, Fiona Foskett, 57, with her daughter, 23-year-old daughter Holly, spotted what they said looked like Nike sneakers in the painting.
She said The sun: ‘I was looking at the painting and the trainers jumped out for me. I said to my daughter, “Wait a minute, is he wearing a pair of Nike sneakers?”
‘We had a hearty laugh about it. He sure is a trendy looking youngster.
A spokesman for the National Gallery said: ‘We are delighted that this photograph has been such a hit with our visitors.
“It resonated with followers when we posted a tweet asking people if they could see a ‘more modern’ detail by taking a closer look at the shoes of the eight-year-old boy in the portrait.”