People have been left mystified after a 160-year-old painting appears to show somebody using a very modern iPhone... It seems like every other day were are visited by a supposed time traveler, and yet very rarely are their predictions correct. If I was a time traveler I would not only be winning the lottery every week, but I'd also be doing more than posing for a painting with my phone out... which is what one 160-year-old painting seems to show. The artwork, known as 'The Expected One,' painted by Austrian artist Ferdinand George Waldmüller in the 19th century appears to show a person holding an iPhone, despite the device coming out in 2007. <img class="size-full wp-image-1263228576" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-15-at-15.37.25.jpg" alt="The Expected One" width="1028" height="1174" />[[imagecaption|| The Expected One was painted in 1860. Credit: Hajotthu/Wikimedia Commons]] Currently on display in Munich, Germany, Waldmüller's 'The Expected One' portrays a serene scene of a woman strolling through nature while a young man patiently awaits her, holding a flower. In the painting, the woman can be seen looking down at an object in her hands. Peter Russell, a visitor from Glasgow, was one of the first to notice this peculiar detail. After viewing the painting during a trip to Germany with his wife, Russell shared his astonishment with <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/zmz88a/do-we-all-see-the-woman-holding-an-iphone-in-this-1860-painting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vice</a>, saying: "What 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." He continued: "The big change is that in 1850 or 1860, every single viewer would have identified the item that the girl is absorbed in as a hymnal or prayer book." Russell went on to highlight the striking contrast by stating: "Today, no one could fail to see the resemblance to the scene of a teenage girl absorbed in social media on their smartphone." The image soon created a storm on social media with people sharing their amazement, as one person <a href="https://twitter.com/DarlaDonna/status/1328820131783315457" target="_blank" rel="noopener">penned</a>: "This 1860 painting 'The Expected One,' painted by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller clearly depicts a time traveling woman holding her iPhone. It's amazing what kind of inspired vision artists can have." <img class="wp-image-1263228578 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/09/GettyImages-846148982.jpg" alt="iPhone" width="1024" height="683" />[[imagecaption|| Some people believe that the painting features a modern iPhone. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty]] A second person <a href="https://twitter.com/Pepita9000/status/1400432030341607424" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>: "Time travel is real. She’s definitely holding an iPhone in this 1860 painting." One person was not willing to suspend their disbelief, as they <a href="https://twitter.com/VikingShieldMdn/status/1577833497204441088" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>: "This is what happens when the new generation cannot think outside their 'norm' Has anyone seen the reaction when you tell the new generation there were days where there were no answering machines?" Amidst the debate, Gerald Weinpolter, an expert in 19th and 20th-century art, weighed in. He told Vice: "The girl in this Waldmüller painting is not playing with her new iPhone X but is off to church holding a little prayer book in her hands." That explanation is more logical, but definitely less fun. <h6>Featured image credit: Hajotthu/Wikimedia Commons</h6>

160-year-old painting appearing to show 'time traveller on their iPhone' baffles social media

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