Face inside the Circle

In 2017 we discovered JW Waterhouse hid an image of a face in the background of his painting “The Magic Circle”. This is the story of that discovery.

Viewing the picture at a distance, allows the image of a face to be revealed. it is a large picture and we have found no evidence that it has ever been displayed in a setting large enough to permit the required viewing distance. You can however achieve the effect by looking at a reduced size image- perhaps on a mobile phone held at arms length.

His 1881 sepia sketch of the same subject, clearly reveals the sorceress looking at an image in a cliff, which demonstrates the concept of having a hidden face inside the painting was already in his mind then.

A satirical sketch by the contemporary cartoonist Harry Furniss also suggests that perhaps Waterhouse had shared the the secret with a select few.

As to why the face has never been seen until now, perhaps Waterhouse either didn’t achieve the effect to his satisfaction or didn’t want to publicise what might be seen as a gimmicky trick to the over-whelmingly conservative, Royal Academy.

For a more detailed examination of our investigation and theory please watch the documentary produced in 2017 or read the article “Jennifer Reeve-Williams & Mark Williams : The Face Inside the Circle: Optical Illusion or Subtle Magic in Waterhouse’s Depiction of Sorcery” published in “The Review”, the journal of the Pre-Raphaelite Society.