Silberblick (painting)
In art, the term silver look is used for a painting technique that is used to depict people in frontal or three-quarter profile . The position of the eyes (or the position of the iris of both eyes) is not shown exactly symmetrically , but shifted slightly towards the center. The effect of this technique is that the viewer is given the feeling that the person depicted is looking at him directly and that his eyes will even follow him when moving. One of the first works to use this technique is Mona Lisa byLeonardo da Vinci .
The invention of the silver gaze can be seen in Western painting in the high renaissance , late 15th to early 16th century. Figures in older images stare unnaturally or look into the distance through the viewer, depending on the painter's ability . This can be seen in rural painting until the 19th century and has not died out to this day. Since the spread of photography from around 1850, it has been common practice that images show the effect because the people photographed often look at the lens . As a result, it is only noticeable when the silver look is not present, for example with the above-mentioned pre- modern painting, children's drawings and naive art .
Japanese woodcuts from the Edo period also show that the reception of the silver gaze depends on viewing habits. They also use this technique, but are often overly cross-eyed for the western observer.