Droste effect

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The Droste effect is a Dutch term for a specific kind of recursive picture^[1], one that in heraldry is termed mise en abyme. An image exhibiting the Droste effect depicts a smaller version of itself in a place where a similar picture would realistically be expected to appear. This smaller version then depicts an even smaller version of itself in the same place, and so on. Only in theory could this go on forever, practically it continues only as long as the resolution of the picture allows, which is relatively short, since each iteration exponentially reduces the picture's size. It is a visual example of a strange loop, a self-referential system.

1 Origin
2 Means of creating the effect
3 Other examples
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Origin

The effect is named after a particular image, that appeared, with variations, on the tins and boxes of Droste cocoa powder, one of the main Dutch brands. It displays a nurse carrying a serving tray with a cup of hot chocolate and a box of the same brand.^[2]

The recursive effect first appeared in 1904, and was maintained for decades, becoming a household notion. Reportedly, poet and columnist Nico Scheepmaker introduced wider usage of the term in the late 1970s.^[3]

[edit] Means of creating the effect

An example of the Droste effect can be easily created by placing two mirrors in front of each other. Another method would be to film one's own television with a video camera, while displaying the output of the video camera on the same television.

The Dutch print artist M. C. Escher was famous for playing with multiple simultaneous perspectives in images, of which recursive appearance is one. In his books Gödel, Escher, Bach and I Am a Strange Loop, Douglas Hofstadter uses Escher's recursive images to visually illustrate his argument that human consciousness is essentially a similar form of recursion (a strange loop).

[edit] Other examples

A recursive image of a clock face illustrating the Droste effect. The creation of this image was influenced by Escher's work and rendered using a plugin for GIMP

The American mock pundit Stephen Colbert has a portrait of himself on the mantle of his set's fireplace which makes use of the Droste effect. A new one is painted each season, with one more level of recursion added.

Other recursive logos:

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ Nänny. Max and Fischer, Olga, The Motivated Sign: Iconicity in Language and Literature pp.37, John Benjamins Publishing Company, (2001) ISBN 9-027-22574-5
^ Törnqvist, Egil. Ibsen: A Doll's House, pp.105, Cambridge University Press (1995) ISBN 0-521-47866-9
^ Droste, altijd welkom