Artists of the past often put a secret meaning into their creations, most often associated with religious and mystical things. Today we will tell you about five of the most famous works of great painters, which are believed to carry hidden "codes".
Giotto's devilish face
The 13th-14th century Italian artist and architect Giotto di Bondone, better known simply as Giotto, is considered the founder of the Italian school of painting. It was his work that became the source of creative inspiration for such Renaissance luminaries as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo.
Around 1315-1320, Giotto was hired to paint the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. The frescoes he painted were dedicated to the life of Christ. Only in 2011, during the restoration, an amazing detail was discovered. In the clouds under the image of God, you can see the features of the devil. The characteristic grin, crooked nose, eyes and horns are clearly visible …
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci
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There is an assumption that this canvas, painted in 1498, is a whole system of codes and ciphers, and that a global prophecy of future world events is encrypted in it.
So, the researcher Sabrina Sforza Galizia decided that the picture indicates the end of the world, which will come on March 21, 4006. The Apocalypse - the Flood - will last until November of the same year, and then life on the planet will revive again.
Another researcher, Slavisa Pesci, believes that there are hidden images of people on the canvas, which become visible when superimposed on the "Supper" of its translucent copy.
Another legend associated with the "Supper" says that da Vinci was looking for models for the images of Christ and Judas for a very long time. Finally, he found one young singer, with whom he wrote Jesus. But he could not find a model for Judas. A few years later, the artist came across a drunkard lying in a gutter, who was still very young, but because of his lifestyle, he looked much older than his years. Leonardo invited him to the inn and offered to pose for the canvas. And then the drunkard remembered that when he was very young and sang in the church choir, they wrote Christ from him … Thus, Christ and Judas were written from the same person, that is, in fact, they are doubles.
Skull for "Ambassadors" Holbein
The painting "Ambassadors" by the German painter Hans Holbein Jr. (1533) depicts two men in rich clothes. These are the French ambassador to London Jean de Denteville and the French envoy to Venice, Bishop Georges de Selves. Some elongated object lies on the floor between them. If you look at an angle to the right, you can see that it is … a skull.
Some experts believe that this is a reference to the Latin phrase memento mori (“remember death”). Presumably the canvas was painted to order.
It is believed that the phenomenon of double vision is used here. If a person looks directly, as most of us are used to looking, then death for him turns into an illusory spot. But when viewed from a different angle, the usual life is distorted and itself becomes an illusion, and death acquires the properties of the only reality …
Christ the waiter at Van Gogh
Vincent Van Gogh has a painting called "Cafe Terrace at Night" (1888). This is one of the most valuable paintings by the outstanding Dutch artist. And it is valuable primarily for its plot.
Twelve visitors gathered on the half-empty open terrace of the cafe that night. In the center is a long-haired waiter in a white tunic. And right behind him is a barely noticeable image of a crucifixion …
According to researcher Jared Baxter, these are none other than Jesus and his apostles. Baxter and some of his colleagues believe that Van Gogh actually portrayed The Last Supper, dedicating it to the work of the same name by Leonardo da Vinci.
It is known that Van Gogh was very religious. However, during his lifetime he never spoke of the religious meaning of the Terrace at Night. Nevertheless, he once wrote to his brother Theo: “… this does not prevent me from desperately needing religion. So I go out at night to paint stars, and I always dreamed of painting a picture with a group of my friends. It is believed that the artist had in mind the very canvas …
Kabbalistic painting by Gauguin
The painting by the famous French painter Paul Gauguin “Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?" (1898) should be "read" from right to left, like the texts of the Kabbalah studied by the artist.
The canvas presents an allegory of human life, both in physical and spiritual aspects. So, in the lower right corner, a child is sleeping - it symbolizes the birth of the soul. And in the lower left corner is a bird carrying a lizard in its claws - this is how death comes for a person …
The picture has a difficult history. Gauguin wrote it on the island of Tahiti, where he arrived in a state of depression due to the terrible poverty in which he was. He planned to finish the job and take his own life. Having barely finished his creation, the painter went to the mountains, taking with him a box of arsenic. He took poison, but because of the incorrectly calculated dose, he survived. The next morning, the failed suicide, barely able to stand, returned to his hut. And suddenly I realized that he wanted to live on! Soon his affairs improved … And the painting "Where did we come from?" became the most famous work of Gauguin.
Author: Irina Shlionskaya