ladbible homepage
ladbible homepage
  • Home
  • News
    • UK
    • US
    • World
    • Ireland
    • Australia
    • Science
    • Crime
    • Weather
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV
    • Film
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • Netflix
    • Disney
  • Sport
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Money
  • Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Videos
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content Here
  • GAMINGbible
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • UNILAD Tech
350 year old painting shows ‘proof’ of time travel as man uses iPhone
Home>News
Published 11:53 9 Oct 2022 GMT+1

350 year old painting shows ‘proof’ of time travel as man uses iPhone

Officially, the man in this 350-year-old painting is supposed to be ‘handing a letter’ to the woman sitting in front of him

Aisha Nozari

Aisha Nozari

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

Officially, the geezer in this 350-year-old painting is supposed to be ‘handing a letter’ to the woman sitting in front of him.

Our message to Pieter De Hooch, the 17th century Dutch artist behind the painting? Come off it, mate.

That’s no letter, that’s an iPhone. And judging by the guy holding the iPhone’s rigid stance, he’s just received a push notification about Liz Truss’s latest antics.

Officially, the geezer in this 350-year-old painting is supposed to be ‘handing a letter’ to the woman sitting in front of him.
World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo

Advert

Hooch is best remembered for his paintings of domestic scenes, and in this particular piece of work - aptly titled ‘Man hands a letter to a woman in a hall’ - a woman can be seen sitting on a chair with a small dog in her lap as a man hands her a letter.

Still not convinced the painting is proof of humankind’s ability to traverse mind-bending paradoxes? Well, perhaps Apple CEO Tim Cook can sway your opinion. 

Back in 2016, Cook paid a visit to Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, where the painting is on display, and was dumbfounded by how much it looked like the subject was holding an iPhone.

Speaking to a crowd the day after his gallery visit, he said ‘there was an iPhone’ in Hooch’s painting. 

Cook explained he was taken to the museum by Neelie Kroes, a former Dutch politician, who quipped to people at The Start-up Fest: “Do you happen to know Tim, where and when the iPhone was invented?” 

Cook replied: “You know, I thought I knew until last night. Last night Neelie took me over to look at some Rembrandt and in one of the paintings I was so shocked. There was an iPhone in one of the paintings.”

Even Tim Cook thought the letter was an iPhone.
PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo

He added: “It’s tough to see but I swear it’s there. I always thought I knew when the iPhone was invented, but now I’m not so sure anymore.”

LADbible would reach out to Hooch’s representatives for comment, but he hasn't been around since 1684.

And it’s not the first time people were left convinced they’d spotted an iPhone - which was invented in 2007 - in an old painting. 

When The Expected One, an 1860 painting by Ferdinand George Waldmüller, was on display in Munich’s Neue Pinakothek museum, one viewer was left convinced they’d spotted an Apple gadget in the artwork.

The painting depicts a serene scene of a young woman engrossed in what we can only assume is a book while a young man looks on, waiting to present her with a flower.

After viewing the painting, Peter Russell, a retired local Glasgow Government officer, told Vice: “No one could fail to see the resemblance to the scene of a teenage girl absorbed in social media on their smartphone."

Featured Image Credit: SJArt / Alamy

Topics: Art, Apple, iPhone, Technology

Aisha Nozari
Aisha Nozari

Recommended reads

Reason why Jesse Eisenberg declined to return as Mark Zuckerberg for Social Network sequel(Columbia Pictures)Only one player was born in smallest nation to ever qualify for World Cup as Curacao kick off tonightRicardo MAKYN / AFP via Getty ImagesMan left fuming after only getting $20 of $100,000 lottery winFOX59 News/YouTubeWhat James Franco has said about friendship with Seth Rogen being 'over' as actor makes rare comments(Jeff Vespa/Getty Images for Hilarity For Charity)

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
4 hours ago
  • Ricardo MAKYN / AFP via Getty Images
    an hour ago

    Only one player was born in smallest nation to ever qualify for World Cup as Curacao kick off tonight

    It's got a population of just 180,000

    News
  • Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images
    4 hours ago

    Tommy Robinson makes desperate plea as he's detained at Heathrow airport

    The political activist was supposedly on his way back from Russia

    News
  • X
    4 hours ago

    Woman, 21, thrown to her death after 'staff forget to attach rope' to her during bungee jump

    Tragedy struck the Brazilian city of Limeira as a local leapt off a bridge, believing she was in safe hands.

    News
  • (Getty Stock Images)
    4 hours ago

    Warning issued over Super El Niño as weather phenomenon with devastating global consequences predicted officially begins

    An El Niño weather event is confirmed for later this year

    News
  • Warning for all iPhone users as tech experts urge everyone to update their devices
  • How to tell if your iPhone has been hacked as more than a billion users at risk
  • People baffled after noticing 'Apple phone' in 350-year-old painting
  • Apple makes major charging claim as iPhone 17 officially goes on sale this week