Does This Painting From The 1850s Show A Woman Holding an iPhone?

A painting from the 19th century is suddenly drawing a lot of attention, but not necessarily for a reason you would expect.

Today, we depend on our smartphones for so many basic activities and tasks. They are an ever-present fixture in most of our lives. They allow us to immediately connect with family, friends, and the outside world. But, they obviously are just a part of recent history. That’s why a man was taken aback when he saw an 1850s painting with a woman who appears to be holding a smartphone.

Austrian artist Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller’s painting from over a century and a half ago does make you pause and wonder if the woman is holding a phone. Even its title, The Expected One, can make you wonder if the artist was having some sort of premonition.

In the painting, a man is on bended knee in hopes of getting the attention of a passing lady. He is offering her a pink flower, but the woman fails to even notice him. She is too busy looking at something she is holding in her hand.

This feels very much like life today. People are so engrossed in their phones that they fail to notice what is right in front of them. If this isn’t a phone, what do you think it could be? People are responding that the artist is a time traveler or perhaps she is holding a very small hymn book.

A similar discussion also arose from a 1937 painting depicting two Native American tribes meeting European settlers in the 1630s. In Mr. Pynchon and the Settling of Springfield, it appears one of the men is holding a smartphone. Click here to see that painting.

Do you think the object in the painting looks like a smartphone? Share your thoughts below! 

Source: Unilad