Reversible

DEFINITION

Having the ability to be reversed or inverted. A reversible image is one that can be seen as right-side-up even when turned upside-down, or as frontward when it is backward or flipped over.In art conservation, such actions as inpainting or relining are said to be reversible when they are done in such a way that they can be removed or undone without harming the rest of the work.Quote: Citing Arcimboldo's Vegetable Gardener in particular, Michael Kimmelman wrote that "he took the concept of still-life realism into the odd cul-de-sac of reversible paintings." Michael Kimmelman, American art critic, in his article, "Discovering a New World of Beauty in Lowly Detail," New York Times, May 28, 2004, B27. Also see anamorphic art, distortion, incongruity, optical illusion, and perception.