Octavio Ocampo Illusion Painting of the General

I think I’m just going to get right down to business today and jump right into it with a painting fromĀ one of my favorite artists, Octavio Ocampo.

Octavio-Ocampo3

It looks like a military general, no? Well, form afar, that’s exactly what it’s supposed to look like, but do you see anything else in the image? Let’s look a little closer…

Octavio-Ocampo3

As you probably already know, that’s the exact same image, only much larger. Do you still see the general? You probably do, but if you look a little closer, you probably also see that this painting only gives the illusion of a general.

Like most of Octavio Ocampo paintings, this is actually a series of well placed people, objects, and shadows that make this painting so stunning. First,the general’s eyes, nose, cheek, mouth, and beard are actually an old man. To the right of the old man is a young woman holding a baby, who together create the illusion of the general’s ear and gold epaulette.

The shape of the archway creates the illusion of the general’s head, and the tree blowing in the wind gives him a messy hairdo. Shadows in the cobblestone street form his shoulder and arm, and dog napping creates the illusion of a hand.

If you want to see more Octavio Ocampo paintings, make sure you check out the Romeo and Juliet painting and the Don Quixote painting!

 

2 Replies to “Octavio Ocampo Illusion Painting of the General”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *