Before photography, the only opportunity to see your face, painters took advantage of the Venus Effect to break optical rules and show faces that couldn’t have been seen in the mirror.
Floris
Two illusions used extensively by painters for centuries before they were recognised. Glare used to accentuate brightness, and Venus for reflection in a mirror.
Paintings of gladiatorial combat and martyrdom in the Colosseum had also been quite different before Gérôme’s ‘Ave Caesar’. Examples from Artemisia Gentileschi and others.
Not as easy as it may seem, there are several outstanding paintings about the sense of sight – and an ancient game which is played on every continent.
The Eclectic Light Company 