Magic or logic: why were mirrors used to be hung at an angle?

Surely many of us have noticed more than once that in some houses paintings and mirrors hang at a slight angle. But hardly anyone thought about what this strange method of fixation was. Especially this solution could often be seen in rural areas in the homes of elderly people. True, this practice is still observed in some places.

Whether this is a tradition or a habit is a little unclear, but it arose back in the days of Tsarist Russia. And not only in our homeland they were attached in this way.

Spoiler: magic has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Why were mirrors hung at an angle before?

So, such a placement for a modern person seems very incomprehensible and even a little strange. This is especially true for a mirror - it’s inconvenient, considering that usually this item was placed almost under the ceiling. Well, what can you see there?! But for some reason people chose this particular method. It turns out that everything is very simple.
Let's return to Tsarist Russia. If we talk about a mirror, then in those days not everyone could afford this piece of furniture, because it was very expensive. The most that ordinary people could afford was fragments. For a simple worker, to buy a whole and large mirror, he would have to spend more than one salary. Those who became the happy owner of a luxurious item treated it very carefully and carefully, once again fearing even to breathe in its direction.So, in order not to break the mirror - accidentally or on purpose - they hung it as high as possible. But why at an angle?

In fact, you yourself understand that you can’t even look into a mirror that hangs God knows where. Maybe the other side of the ceiling. Although people knew little about optics, they found out experimentally that if you hang it at an angle to the floor, you can see yourself in full height.

Already in the USSR, mirrors began to be produced in many factories, and therefore they ceased to be a luxury item and a sign of wealth. Absolutely all citizens could purchase one, or even several. But habit and tradition are a serious thing and practically indelible from memory. Getting rid of it is not so easy. By inertia, the location of the mirrors remained the same.

There is, however, a mystical explanation for why the mirror was hung at an angle. It was believed that seeing oneself not at full height was a bad sign, and therefore it was hung in such a way that one could see oneself as a whole.

What about the paintings?

Yes, in the past, paintings and photographs were also hung at a slight angle. But there is a slightly different reason here. It was believed that this placement allows for a better view of the image, since there will be no glare on it, and dust does not collect so intensely.

By the way, have you noticed that in many museums paintings hang this way?