Johann Joseph Oppel (1855) on Geometrical–Optical Illusions: A Translation and Commentary

The term geometrical–optical illusions was coined by Johann Joseph Oppel (1815–1894) in 1855 in order to distinguish spatial distortions of size and orientation from the broader illusions of the senses. We present a translation of Oppel’s article and a commentary on the material described in it. Oppel did much more than give a name to a class of visual spatial distortions. He examined a variety of figures and phenomena that were precursors of later, named illusions, and attempted to quantify and interpret them.