History Main / PortraitPaintingPeephole

* ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'': Randall (who has chameleon powers) blends into a painting, with the eyes lined up with his own.

* A variation occurs in the ''WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit'' short "WesternAnimation/TheWrongTrousers". Gromit is shadowing the villain in a box, he cuts some eyeholes from the inside and (by a lucky coincidence) they happen to be cut out of xactly the right spot of the box's exterior (a picture of a dog).

* On the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short "Hair-Raising Hare", Bugs Bunny catches one of these being used by the orange monster and gives it a good eye poke. The monster then sees Bugs in another painting and tries to poke his eyes too, but Bugs eye pokes him again.

[[quoteright:317:[[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/indy4_6219.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:317:I spy with my little eye.]]

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
** Some paintings in the Patrician's palace have eyeholes for spying, but it's stated in ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'' that Vetinari doesn't use them, they are just a relic from a previous ruler's tenure, like the Ho-ho (like a ha-ha only deeper - it's a landscape gardening thing).
** References are made to paintings in which other body parts (e.g. a ferret's nose) seem to follow you around the room.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

->'''Judd:''' Well, you really fucked that up.
->'''Nick:''' Shut up, you're a picture.
->'''Judd:''' No I'm not, I'm in the wall. See? ''(his eyes dart towards Nick, freaking him out)''
* In ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' episode "Ghost of a Chance", a portrait of Sir Colby (and some human) hides Fat Cat, supported by his henchanimals so he can see through the human's eyes. Then they throw him off so they can see the Rescue Rangers themselves, Mepps taking one eye and Wart taking the other. A close-up reveals how weird this looks, as Mepps has a pale yellow sclera with a green iris, and Wart has a green sclera and a brown iris, and because they're looking in different directions. Mole takes a turn, too, and follows Zipper's movements until poked in the eye.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' episode "Meet the [=OddParents=] has Timmy's parents hiding behind portraits of themselves to spy on Timmy. They then put the picture on the refrigerator door while they hide inside, and then holding while outside on a tree branch.

** In the episode "The Honking", a painting in the castle of Bender's late uncle Vladimir appears to watch him, but upon closer inspection...

** In the "My Three Suns" episode, an assassin first watches Fry through a portrait and then tries to drink him through a straw that was hidden behind the portrait.

** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E3CastleManeia Castle Mane-ia]]" the eye of a painting follows Rainbow Dash and Applejack as they run through the hallway.

* It was common for ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' to feature a scene of the characters moving past a portrait with moving eyes. A series of Cartoon Network promos for the show titled ''Scooby-Doo: Behind the Scenes'' had the characters lampshading the trope in the final promo "Those Meddling Kids, Together Again" and Velma jokingly asking why weren't there any haunted houses with landscape paintings.

** Mister Burns used this to spy on Homer and Marge. It even has peepholes for the dog in the picture so Smithers could look too.
** In the episode "Goo Goo Gai Pan" there's a large portrait of UsefulNotes/MaoZedong with peepholes in the nostrils.

* In the extended cut of ''Film/RobinHoodPrinceOfThieves'', the Sheriff of Nottingham discovers that Mortiana has been spying on his meetings through a hole cut into one of the paintings in his chamber. This helps him realise that all of her "visions" and "foretellings" about how to seek power have just been her using the information she gathered while spying to make him carry out her EvilPlan.

* A variation occurs in the ''WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit'' short "The Wrong Trousers". Gromit is shadowing the villain in a box, he cuts some eyeholes from the inside and (by a lucky coincidence) they happen to be cut out of xactly the right spot of the box's exterior (a picture of a dog).

%% * Used in Creator/{{Disney}}'s ''Film/TheHauntedMansion''.

* A ''Manga/CrayonShinChan'' horror spoof episode has Shin Chan and family entering a HauntedHouse whose Lord and servants are vampires. One of the spooky encounters have the vampire butler spying on Shin Chan, only for Shin Chan [[{{Mooning}} to rub his exposed buttocks on the portrait's eyes]] causing the vampire servant to fall off a ladder.