17th-century painting supposedly shows a boy wearing Nike-branded shoes. Pic credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia
A 400-year-old portrait that purportedly shows a boy wearing Nike-branded shoes sparked excitement among paranormal believers.
According to enthusiasts, the painting by the 17th-century Dutch artist Ferdinand Bol proved time travel.
Excitement over the painting was not limited to believers in paranormal phenomena. Skeptics also expressed amazement at the alleged evidence of time travel. Some even declared it has converted them to believers.
The latest comes after Taylor Swift fans claimed a 1980s TV commercial proved the pop singer was a time traveler
Was a 17th-century boy wearing Nike shoes?
The painting, displayed at London’s National Gallery at Trafalgar Square, London, depicts a pre-adolescent boy holding a goblet. Historians believe the artwork created in the 1650s is the portrait of an eight-year-old boy named Frederick Sluysken.
Young Frederick was the son of a prosperous wine merchant and a relative of the artist’s wife.
The Sun reported that a mother, Fiona Foskett, and her daughter, Holly, noticed it while visiting the gallery in 2023.
17th-century painting of a boy allegedly wearing Nike-branded shoes. Pic credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia
Foskett, a native of the Isle of Wight, told the British tabloid that she and her daughter were viewing old paintings at the art museum when she noticed it.
The mark on the shoes resembled the familiar logo of the famous sportswear company.
She called her daughter’s attention to it. Her daughter agreed that it looked like the Nike logo. Both women couldn’t help laughing at the seeming anomaly.
Foskett joked that the boy may have been a time traveler.
Skeptics reacted to time travel claim
An official at the museum reportedly reacted to the attention that the painting was getting from paranormal enthusiasts.
The official expressed delight that visitors observed the detail. They said the museum shared a tweet challenging people to spot it.
While some paranormal believers appeared convinced that it proved time travel, skeptics scrutinized it and suggested mundane explanations.
Many concluded it was the boy’s shoelace or buckles.
“A simple lace shoe knot in both shoes. Zoom the image and look at the shoes,” a Reddit user commented.
“It’s the belt buckle for the shoe,” another skeptic commented.
“Silver buckles?” a third proposed.
Fans said 3,000-yr-old bust proved MJ was a time traveler
Some fans of the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson, claimed that a 3000-year-old ancient Egyptian bust proved their idol was a time traveler.
MJ’s fans claimed that a bust at the Field Museum in Chicago that resembled the King of Pop proved he lived in ancient times.
Some fans turned to scrutinizing the the official video for MJ’s 1992 hit single Remember the Time for coded messages he supposedly concealed there.