2. All Is Vanity
“All is Vanity” is a famous drawing created by Charles Allen Gilbert in 1892. When you first look at it, it seems like a normal picture of a woman sitting at a makeup table. But if you look closer, you’ll notice something hidden—a spooky skull silhouette.
This artwork makes you think differently because you have to look at two images at the same time. It’s like an optical illusion that tests your ability to see both things in the illustration—the beautiful woman and the symbolic representation of death—at once. It makes you reflect on how beauty doesn’t last forever and how death is something we can’t escape.
