     Upon first glance of this painting, the viewer can easily see the bird featured on the right side. However, if the viewer were to continue their gaze, they would also be able to see a hidden image of a secondary bird constructed by the tuft of leaves in the left side of the painting. This optical illusion was purposeful and intentionally created by the artist as a tactic to lengthen the gaze of the viewer as they examine it further, searching for any additional hidden images. The artist was intentionally symbolic during the development of this painting as exhibited through manipulation of the leaves’ structure, the single droplet of water in the middle of the branch, and even through the use of colors in the leaves and in the background as a means of adding substantial depth to this image. The combination of these symbols is significant because they enable the viewer to script a narrative about the nature of the life cycle that is derived from the overall mood of grief exhibited in this painting.  

          Within the configuration of the leaves lays a hidden image of a secondary bird, which represents the primary bird’s mate. The artist could have painted another, perceptible bird- similar to the primary bird on the right side of the painting; however, the ambiguity created by this tactic allows the viewer illustrate the nature of the life cycle of a bird that has recently died.  The structure of the leaves, which represents this symbolic bird, is intentional in the use of negative space. Because the secondary bird is hollow, rather than filled with more leaves, the artist exemplifies the representation of a bird that was once alive, but no longer is still alive: a mere shell of something that once was. The viewer gets the sense that the primary bird is uncomfortable with the transition of life to death by its body positioning relative to that of the secondary bird. Its neck is cocked upwards and to the side, which references the fact that it is uncomfortable with the progression of the life cycle and how it effected a bird that it was very close to, its mate. If the shell of leaves were supposed to represent any other bird, besides the primary bird’s mate, then the primary bird would not be making such an effort just to look at it. Instead, the primary bird would be looking straight ahead, a position similar to that of the secondary bird.  The literal bird is mourning the loss of its mate and is personifying inanimate objects into its late mate as a result of, and coping mechanism, dealing with the grief experienced. 

     Another representation of grief that is depicted in this image is the inclusion of a single droplet of water upon the branch of the perched birds. Because there is only one droplet, rather than of the entirety of the branch beaded with water, it shows that the droplet is not derived from the result of a natural rain.  Instead, it serves as an intentional symbol that adds significant depth to the image because it mirrors a figurative rain: tears. It is strategically placed equidistantly between both the real bird and the symbolic bird acting as an emotional bridge that connects the two. The single droplet personifies the literal bird because a tear has fallen from its eye, yielding an undoubted byproduct of grief. Artistically, droplets could have appeared anywhere on the branch to convey the sense of a recent rain; however, this is clearly not what the artist intended. Its lonely quality, which parallels the literal bird’s emotional state, and the isolation of a singular droplet coupled with the precise location of the drop is all evidence that the droplet was very intentional and should not go unnoticed. The introduction of a lone teardrop enhances the painting’s mood through the personification of grief that the primary bird is experiencing as the result of the loss of its mate. 

     The use of color in the tuft of leaves reinforces the fact that a bird has recently died and the colors of the background point to an afterlife for the secondary bird.  Fall leaves, rather than spring leaves, are intentionally chosen to represent the secondary bird because fall leaves encase the season of transition from life to death. The shift from spring to winter is equivalent to the nature of the life cycle because everything living is mortal. This transition is deepened as it can also signify the transition from life to the afterlife as shown through the background. The background is very blurred and no figures can be depicted from it; however, the artist purposefully neglected the details on these shapes and figures so that the viewer’s attention is magnified and sole-forced on the specificity of the colors used on the background as well as the color’s location in relation to the foreground. The specific coloring described is shown by the biggest color contrast in the background is uncoincidently placed on the same side of the painting that the symbolic bird is. The upper half of this side of the painting is the lightest portion of the painting, and the bottom half serves as the darkest portion of the painting. The stark contrast of colors and the location of the contrast being on the same side of the painting as the recently deceased bird, tell the viewer that the bird is now transitioning into the afterlife of heaven or hell. The secondary bird appears to be encircled by the lighter tones of paint rather than the darker tones, which tell the viewer that the bird is now in heaven. On the right side of the painting, where the primary bird is, there is only a slight contrast in colors while the rest of it remains dull and lackluster signifying that the primary bird has not reached the afterlife yet, because it is still alive.  Through the fall leaves that construct the symbolic bird’s season of transition from life to death, the background’s transition conveys a double meaning that furthers the initial transition from life, to death, to heaven. 

     In summary, this optical illusion has created multiple vantage points for the viewer. The painting depicts the natural aspects of the life cycle that nothing lives for forever. Everything that lives is mortal and this painting explicates that through the use of both a literal and figurative bird. However, there is hope for reunion of the two birds in the afterlife as evidenced through the contrast expressed in the background on the left side of the painting. The color scheme used by the fall leaves is mimicked by the unimpressionable background, which furthers the overall theme of a transitional period.  Significant amounts of depth were brought into this painting because the viewer was able to look at a sprig of leaves and see a secondary bird, to look at a water droplet on a branch and see a tear drop, and, finally, to look at the coloring and see the transitions from life to death and into the afterlife. The depth experienced by this painting communicates the difference between just looking and actually seeing.  
