The Rubin vase, also known as the Rubin face or the figure-ground vase, is a famous optical illusion in which the image of a vase can also be perceived as two faces in profile looking at each other.
The illusion is named after the Danish psychologist Edgar Rubin, who described it in his 1915 book “Visual Perception”.
The Rubin vase illustrates the principle of figure-ground perception, which is the ability of the human visual system to separate an object from its background.
Table of Contents
- How does the Rubin Vase Illusion work?
- Versions of the Rubin Vase Illusion
- Illusions like the Rubin Vase Illusion
- Discovery of the Rubin Vase Illusion
- References and Resources
How does the Rubin Vase Illusion work?
The Rubin vase illusion works by exploiting the human visual system’s ability to perceive objects as distinct from their backgrounds, known as figure-ground perception.
The image of the vase is ambiguous, as the viewer’s brain can perceive it as either the vase or the two faces depending on how the brain organizes the information.
The brain organizes visual information by grouping similar elements together and separating them from dissimilar elements.
In the case of the Rubin vase, the brain can organize the black shapes as the vase and the white space as the background, or it can organize the white shapes as the faces and the black space as the background.
The brain tends to organize the information in a way that creates the most meaningful and coherent interpretation.
Additionally, the illusion also highlights the brain’s ability to perceive depth and 3-dimensional structure in 2-dimensional images. The vase’s handles are perceived as being behind the faces, which creates the illusion of depth and volume in the image.
This illusion is also related to the concept of “perceptual set” which refers to the brain’s ability to focus on specific aspects of the image and ignore others depending on the context.
Versions of the Rubin Vase Illusion
The following are some alternate versions of the Rubin Vase Illusion:
Is it an image of the US State Idaho or a person’s face?
Illusions like the Rubin Vase Illusion
Ambiguous illusions are visual stimuli that can be interpreted in more than one way. These illusions typically consist of a single image that can be perceived in multiple ways. Ambiguous illusions can be used to study the neural mechanisms of perception and how the brain resolves ambiguity.
Some related illusions include the following:
The duck-rabbit illusion is an optical illusion that is an image that can be perceived as either a duck or a rabbit depending on how the viewer looks at it.
The Necker cube is an optical illusion that features a simple wireframe drawing of a cube. The cube appears to switch back and forth between two different orientations.
The My Wife and My Mother-in-Law illusion is an optical illusion with an image of a young woman’s face that can also be perceived as an older woman’s face.
The Schröder Staircase is an optical illusion that features a drawing of a staircase. The staircase appears to be either ascending or descending, depending on how the brain interprets the angles of the lines.
The impossible cube is an optical illusion that depicts a three-dimensional object that is physically impossible to construct.
The Penrose triangle, also known as the Penrose tribar, is an optical illusion that depicts a three-dimensional object that is physically impossible to construct.
The impossible trident is a three-pronged impossible shape resembling a trident. It is usually depicted as a three-pronged fork with each prong appearing to be a continuation of the next, creating an impossible shape.
The spinning dancer illusion is a visual illusion that depicts a silhouette of a dancer spinning clockwise or counterclockwise. The direction of the dancer’s spin can appear to change depending on the viewer’s perception
The Monroe-Einstein illusion works by playing with the viewer’s expectations about the relationships between the features of the faces and the viewer’s sense of facial proportions.
Discovery of the Rubin Vase Illusion
The illusion is named after the Danish psychologist Edgar Rubin, who described it in his 1915 book “Visual Perception”.
Edgar Rubin was a Danish psychologist and author. He is best known for his work on visual perception and his 1915 book “Visual Perception” in which he described the Rubin vase illusion.
Rubin was born in 1882 and received his PhD in psychology from the University of Copenhagen in 1911.
He worked as a professor of psychology at the University of Copenhagen and later at the University of Aarhus.
He was a leading figure in the field of perception research and also made contributions to the study of memory and attention. Rubin died in 1948.
References and Resources
Check out our complete list of illusions and this cool Ambiguous Columns Illusion like the Rubin Vase.