Item #: SCP-1226
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-1226 is to be hung on the wall of a standard containment chamber, and access restricted to testing personnel. SCP-1226 may be safely observed remotely or piecemeal; its anomalous properties manifest only when it is viewed in person and in its entirety. A 6 cm x 6 cm square of opaque black plastic has been positioned in the upper left corner of SCP-1226, to be removed for testing purposes. Only D-class personnel are permitted to view SCP-1226 uncovered. Special security precautions are to be taken when exposing subjects to SCP-1226, as post-exposure subjects exhibit heightened aggression, endurance, and physical strength. Post-exposure subjects are to be terminated at the conclusion of testing.
Description: SCP-1226 is a large oil landscape painting measuring 2 meters by 4 meters. It depicts, in great detail, the detonation of a nuclear weapon above a large city1. Photorealistic attention has been paid to every detail of the painting, from optically correct reflections on the thousands of glass shards depicted, to the accurate representation of the effects of atomic firestorm on the 3,129 human figures portrayed on the streets. SCP-1226 was originally displayed in a varnished oaken frame and accompanied by a freestanding informational plaque2. For full text of the plaque, see Addendum 1226-02.
When a subject views the whole of SCP-1226 in person, it causes an immediate mental and physical change in the viewer. A significant increase in physical size and overall musculature is accompanied by a pronounced curvature of the spine, forcing a hunched, simian posture. The skull is radically reshaped, the forehead sloping and jaw protruding. This results in a marked reduction of total brain mass and an increase in cranial pressure, with a significant reduction in cerebral volume. These changes occur over the space of about 40 seconds, and are evidently extremely painful.
Post-exposure subjects exhibit a massive loss of mental capacity consistent with the reduction in brain mass. Subjects are capable of only rudimentary guttural vocalizations and simple gesturing by way of communication, and are concerned only with feeding, copulating, and other basic instinctual behaviors. Due to the intense pain and loss of mental function associated with transformation, subjects invariably enter a violent state of panic.
Initial descriptions of affected subjects as "cavemen" have been proven inaccurate. Autopsies and paleontological analysis have revealed marked dissimilarities between known human ancestors and affected subjects. Currently favored theories propose that subjects are altered into either a hitherto-undiscovered prehistoric hominid, or a popularly-perceived "caveman" archetype.
All re-education and rehabilitation efforts to date have failed due to the radical simplification of subject's brain structures.
Addendum 1226-01: Acquisition Log.

SCP-1226 was acquired on ███ ██, ████, following its unveiling at [DATA REDACTED] Gallery in [DATA REDACTED]. The unveiling event was heavily promoted as featuring the latest work of ███████ ███████, and was attended by many well-known members of the global artistic community.
The unveiling event exposed ███ individuals to the anomalous effects of SCP-1226. Those gallery patrons and employees not exposed were killed by exposed subjects over the next half hour, either through bludgeoning, cannibalism, ██████ ███████████, or some combination thereof. 911 calls and police reports were intercepted by MTF Upsilon-23 ("Art Critics"), affected subjects captured or eliminated, and amnestics administered to witnesses and first responders. SCP-1226's anomalous effects were confirmed on-site by MTF Upsilon-23, and SCP-1226 was taken into containment.

Addendum 1226-02: Text of Informational Plaque.

The inevitable conclusion of the modern age is in self-destruction! The post-modern era will be like the pre-modern era, the new will be like the old, there will be shiny chrome primitivism for everyone, and we'll all finally be cool.
~███████ ███████3

Footnotes
1. The skyline of the city depicted in SCP-1226 does not conform to that of any currently extant urban center.
2. Neither frame nor plaque have exhibited anomalous properties, and may be viewed upon request.
3. Mr. ███████ ███████, noted post-modernist painter, professed no knowledge of an exhibition at [DATA REDACTED] featuring his work. Furthermore, SCP-1226 is highly atypical of his artwork.

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