Iconic book covers as GIFS: The Great Gatsby and Moby Dick become even more eye-popping in motion.

When You Add Subtle GIFs to Iconic Book Covers, the Result Is Kind of Magic

When You Add Subtle GIFs to Iconic Book Covers, the Result Is Kind of Magic

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Brow Beat
Slate's Culture Blog
Sept. 3 2015 8:02 AM

When You Add Subtle GIFs to Iconic Book Covers, the Result Is Kind of Magic

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The famous 1925 Great Gatsby cover art designed by Francis Cugat—those sultry eyes suspended in a midnight blue sky—is powerful on its own. But when, upon closer inspection, you see those eyes blink slowly, revealing their long lashes? It’s kind of magic.

The artist Javier Jensen has taken some of the most iconic covers in literary history and added subtle GIFs—so subtle that you have to linger on the image before you see what’s different. From the tiny whale flicking its tail across the cover of Moby Dick to the swaying flowers on Le Petit Prince, the effect is pretty mesmerizing.