A 160-year-old painting on display in Germany has sparked claims from conspiracy theorists that it proves time travel is real, because the woman depicted appears to be holding a smartphone-like device.
The Painting and Its Details
The artwork, titled 'The Expected One,' was painted by Ferdinand George Waldmüller and is housed at the Neue Pinakothek museum in Munich, Germany. It shows a young woman walking along a dusty track in a rural landscape, with rolling hills and vegetation, while a man hides among trees holding a flower. The woman is absorbed in an object she holds with both hands, her thumbs positioned as if typing or scrolling.
The Smartphone Theory
The theory emerged around 2017 when art enthusiasts noticed the object and posted their observations online. Many compared it to an iPhone or touchscreen mobile phone, noting how she grips it and gazes downward. Peter Russel, a former Glasgow council worker, told Vice: "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. 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."
Historical Context and Debunking
However, the object is likely a small book, such as a hymnal or prayer book, which were common in that era. Pocket-sized books were typical for the period. The first mobile phone with a physical keyboard, the Nokia 9000 Communicator, was launched in 1996, and the iPhone debuted in 2007—long after the painting was created. A similar incident occurred in 2016 when former Apple CEO Tim Cook claimed to have spotted an iPhone in a 350-year-old painting in Amsterdam, which also showed a man holding a rectangular object. Both cases have fueled speculation but lack genuine evidence.
