Who is Venus looking at in this picture?

The first person she looked at was a ~49 year old Spaniard.

It’s supposed to be a mirror, but it looks like a painting to me. If it’s a mirror the angle isn’t right. She’s looking at a painting of herself.

She is looking at the viewer. If you walked into the room, she would be looking at you.

I agree she’s looking at the reflection of us grinning happily at her backside.

You guys got this right. There is a natural tendency for people to think that Venus is looking at herself, which a little thought shows makes no sense. Light goes from Venus to the mirror to the observer, and going the other way, from the observer to the mirror to Venus.

Uranus?

Herself, obviously. The painting is titled “Venus at Her Mirror”.

Me.

Can’t say I blame her :)

The viewer.
The name of the painting doesn’t indicate what she is looking at, only that she is at the mirror.

@josie in your case, she’s probably trying to figure out what’s burning a hole in her backside.

@stanleybmanly Maybe

@NomoreY_A in the article it says, “Although her gaze into the mirror is one of self-admiration, it is also eerily directed at the viewer, ” However, I don’t really see that….

@Dutchess_III Me neither, Dutchess. Looks to me like she’s just admiring her own visage.

It is called the Venus effect
A mirror is not the same as a picture or photograph. What you see in the mirror depends on where you are relative to the mirror.

Maybe this will help you to visualize what is going on. Imagine that you and someone else have your backs against a wall separated by a few feet. On the opposite wall there is a narrow mirror that is facing the point on the back wall at the midpoint between the two of you. Neither of you will see your own image due to the narrowness of the mirror, but each of you will be able to see the other.