Beuchet Chair Illusion

The Beuchet Chair Illusion is an optical illusion that involves a drawing or a photograph of a chair that appears to change shape and orientation as the viewer’s perspective changes.

In the Beuchet Chair Illusion, the chair is drawn or photographed from an oblique angle, causing it to appear distorted and impossible to sit in.

However, when viewed from a different angle, the chair appears to change shape and orientation, becoming a comfortable, normal chair that can be sat in.

This illusion demonstrates the importance of perspective in our perception of the world and highlights the role of context in shaping our perceptions.

Beuchet Chair Illusion
Beuchet Chair Illusion


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How does the Beuchet Chair Illusion work?

The Beuchet Chair Illusion works by taking advantage of the way our brain processes visual information. When we look at an object, our brain takes into account our perspective and any other surrounding information to form a three-dimensional representation of the object.

In the case of the Beuchet Chair Illusion, the chair is drawn or photographed from an oblique angle, causing the brain to perceive it as a distorted, impossible to sit in chair.

However, when the viewer changes their perspective or moves around the chair, the brain takes into account the new information and updates its representation of the chair.

This results in the appearance of the chair changing shape and orientation, becoming a comfortable, normal chair that can be sat in.

The Beuchet Chair Illusion shows that our perception of the world is not solely determined by the visual information that is in front of us, but is also influenced by our own experiences, expectations, and context.

Versions of the Beuchet Chair Illusion

The following are some other versions of the Beuchet Chair Illusion:


Beuchet Chair Illusion


Beuchet Chair Illusion





Illusions like the Beuchet Chair Illusion

The Beuchet Chair Illusion is an optical illusion that falls into the category of perspective illusions. Perspective illusions are optical illusions that involve the manipulation of perspective and the changing of the apparent shape, size, or orientation of an object as the viewer’s perspective changes.

The Beuchet Chair Illusion is an example of a perspective illusion because it creates the appearance of a chair changing shape and orientation as the viewer’s perspective changes. This illusion demonstrates the influence of perspective on our perception of the world and highlights the role of context in shaping our perceptions.

Some similar illusions are as follows:

The Leaning Tower Illusion is an optical illusion that involves the perception of the tilt angle of a tower or building.

In this illusion, although the images are duplicates, one has the impression that the tower on the right leans more, as if photographed from a different angle.



Forced perspective is a technique used in photography, architecture, and other visual arts to manipulate the perception of the size and distance of objects.

It creates the illusion of a larger or smaller object, or of one that is closer or farther away, by carefully controlling the angles, proportions, and placement of objects in the scene.



The Ponzo illusion is a type of visual illusion in which a pair of parallel lines, or a horizontal bar, appear to be of different lengths based on the presence of a converging or diverging set of lines, often resembling the converging parallel lines of a road or railway track, placed above and below them.


Ponzo illusion
The Ponzo Illusion


The Ebbinghaus illusion: This illusion is similar to the Delboeuf illusion but in this case the central circle appears larger when surrounded by smaller circles and smaller when surrounded by larger circles.



Ebbinghaus Illusion


The Delboeuf illusion is a perceptual illusion in which the perceived size of a circle is affected by the size of the surrounding circles.


The Occlusion illusion is a visual illusion where an object that is partially obscured by another object appears to be farther away than it actually is. This illusion is caused by the brain’s interpretation of the relative depth of the objects based on their relative size and position. This phenomenon is based on the visual cues that the brain uses to perceive depth, such as relative size, position, and overlap.


The occlusion illusion


The Müller-Lyer illusion is a classic example of size-contrast illusion, in which two lines of equal length appear to be different due to the presence of arrowheads or fins at the end of the lines.

müller-lyer illusion

The moon illusions involves the perception of the Moon appearing larger when it is near the horizon compared to when it is high in the sky.



The Kanizsa triangle is a visual illusion that was first described by the Italian psychologist Gaetano Kanizsa in 1955. The illusion consists of a white equilateral triangle that appears to be surrounded by three Pac-Man-like shapes, which are black and have white crescents facing inwards.



The Shepard table illusion is a type of perceptual illusion that is created by a table-like structure that appears to change its shape depending on the viewing angle.

The table is designed to have sides that are slanted, which creates an ambiguity in the visual perception of the object and makes it appear to change shape from a square to a rectangle or vice versa as the viewpoint changes.

The Shepard table illusion is a classic example of how the brain uses perceptual cues to form a coherent interpretation of the world and highlights the importance of context in shaping our perception.


Shepard Tables
Shepard Tables


All these illusions demonstrate that the perceived size of an object can be influenced by the context in which it is presented, and that the brain uses the size of the surrounding objects as a reference point to judge the size of the central object.


Discovery of the Beuchet Chair Illusion

The illusion is named after French psychologist Jules Beuchet, who first described it in the late 19th century.

The Beuchet Chair Illusion was first described by French psychologist Jules Beuchet in the late 19th century. Beuchet was interested in the way our brain processes visual information and the influence of context on our perception of the world. He created the Beuchet Chair Illusion as a tool to demonstrate these principles and to highlight the importance of perspective in our perception of the world.

Since Beuchet’s original description of the illusion, it has been widely used by psychologists and researchers as a tool for studying perception and the brain, and has become one of the most well-known and well-studied optical illusions.

Jules Beuchet was a French psychologist and physician who lived in the late 19th century. He is best known for his research in the field of psychology and his description of the Beuchet Chair Illusion.

Beuchet was interested in the way our brain processes visual information and the influence of context on our perception of the world. He made several contributions to the field of psychology and is remembered for his innovative research in the areas of perception and visual illusions.


References and Resources

Check out our complete list of illusions.


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