Painting from the 1860s seems to show a young woman using an iPhone

A ‘time-travel’ painting from the 1860s of a woman holding what looks to be an iPhone has left art lovers puzzled.

The painting, called The Expected One, made by Ferdinand George Waldmüller around 150 years ago.

The piece of art hangs in display at the Neue Pinakothek museum in Munich and was spotted by retired Glasgow local government officer Peter Russell.

It appears to show a woman in a 19th century dress holding a rectangular black object in her hand, reminiscent of a 21st century mobile phone.

The young woman is looking down at the object, which bears remarkable similarity to a scene that’s become all too familiar today – ‘distracted walkers’ who dominate pathways with phones in their hands.

The famous painting first went viral in 2017, when users took to social media to joke that the woman was ignoring the man because she was swiping on a dating app.

But it has since resurfaced, with people discussing whether the painting is a sign of time travel.

She is painted walking down a rocky dirt path, as a kneeling man awaits her approach not far ahead, with a pink flower in his hand.

She is walking in the sun, while the man is tucked behind a corner in the shade. 

According to the gallery, the painting is also known as ‘Sunday Morning,’ and shows the two characters dressed in their Sunday clothes.

As the boy awaits the arrival of ‘his love,’ the girl appears engrossed in her hymnbook, leaving the viewer wondering if his feelings will be reciprocated. 

But an expert says that she is not holding a mobile phone – but a hymnbook, much more fitting for the time. 

Rather than focusing on the man with the flower in his hand, the young woman was concentrating on her connection with God and religion.

‘What strikes me most is how much a change in technology has changed the interpretation of the painting, and in a way has leveraged its entire context,’ Russell told Motherboard.

Users debated on Twitter whether the woman in the painting was holding an iPhone or a hymn book

‘The big change is that in 1850 or 1860, every single viewer would have identified the item that the girl is absorbed in as a hymnal or prayer book.

‘Today, no one could fail to see the resemblance to the scene of a teenage girl absorbed in social media on their smartphone.’ 

Users on Twitter debated what the object was – whether the painting was an iPhone or a prayer book.

One user wrote: ‘Not originally my post by this picture is <150 years old. Looks a lot like a b****y iPhone doesn’t it?!’

Another penned: ‘Time travel is real. She’s definitely holding an iPhone in this 1860 painting.’

A third commented: ‘She’s watching TikTok. Duh.’

Others were not convinced that the young woman was holding an iPhone, saying it was a Bible or prayer book instead 

A fourth said: ‘The way her fingers are laced suggests that she’s holding a phone. Holding it that way makes it easier to use both thumbs to type. It is possible shes upset that her phone is about to die because she’s in 1860!’

But others weren’t so convinced, arguing it was indeed a prayer book.

One user argued and said: ‘A small Bible.’

Another wrote: ‘I’m looking at the painting called The Expected One and really think it’s more likely she is praying with her prayer book, not an iPhone!’ 

A third said: ‘It’s a praying book. It’s not an iPhone.’