Twenty Francs 2021 Illusion - Bridge of Life, Coin from Switzerland - detailed information

The Twenty Francs coin is a denomination of the Swiss Franc. Given that Switzerland has four official languages, the Franc has three different names: Franken in German, franc in French and Romansh, and franco in Italian.

In regular circulation, the denomination is served by a banknote. These coins are non-circulating legal tender made for collectors. They are issued in topical series, celebrating various aspects of Swiss heritage or nature.

The edge is usually inscribed with the motto DOMINUS PROVIDEBIT (The Lord will provide - a quote from the Bible, Genesis 22, 8), and thirteen stars representing the original thirteen cantons of the Swiss Federation.

This commemorative coin depicts The Bridge of Life, a painting by Sandro Del-Prete.

In the narrower sense of the word, an illusion is a trick of the senses, i.e. a false perception of reality. Optical illusions can be created using various elements: movement, brightness and contrast, colours, geometrical and angular illusions or even three-dimensionality. Various painters and artists use these optical techniques (trompe l'oeil) to create unusual and surprising effects for the observer in a bid to evoke amazement and astonishment. As a matter of fact, this form of art has not yet been given a definitive name.

Swiss artist Sandro Del-Prete is an important representative of drawings and objects involving optical illusions, which he calls "illusorism". A typical example of this is his oil painting "The Bridge of Life", which was used as the model for this silver coin. Writing about this painting, he said, among other things: "The people are perpetually moving forward, towards the observer, and are never seen from behind. They are always heading towards the end of life. As no one gets younger as time passes, no one can be seen from behind either. This contains and illustrates one of the secrets of the universe: Where is the past? Where is the present? Where is the future?"