- It's been said that when
artists paint something,
it's them putting their
message out in to the world.
But what if the painter's
trying to say something secret.
(soft piano music)
Some of the greatest pieces of art work,
the masterpieces that we all know of
are not all that they seem to be.
Through examination by some
of the world's greatest minds
it was discovered that
within the paint and canvas
laid a secret message.
These are ten famous
paintings with hidden codes.
Number one is The Last
Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci.
One of the most well-known
paintings of all time,
The Last Supper by Leonardo
Da Vinci was painted
in Milan, Italy in the late 1490's.
Controversy surrounds
this famous painting,
especially after being heavily featured
in author Dan Brown's
historical fiction novel,
The Da Vinci Code.
However Mr. Brown is not
the only one with theories
about what secret meanings
lurk beyond the brush strokes
of this famous painting.
Italian musician Giovanni
Maria Pala discovered that
when a musical scale is
laid across the table,
and the hands and loaves in the
painting are taken as notes,
a musical composition is formed.
When read left to right,
as was the writing style
of Da Vinci, a 40 second
tune comes to life.
(tones played on an organ)
While this may seem way
too far-fetched to believe,
even disbelieving scholars
support this theory due to
the fact that the composition
boasts perfect harmony.
Number two is Cafe Terrace
at Night by Vincent Van Gogh.
Long before the rumors and
myths of the secret messages
behind Da Vinci's masterpiece
The Last Supper surfaced,
it was, and still is, an
inspiration to artists
around the world.
Even the well-known
post-impressionist painter
Vincent Van Gogh seemed
to use it as an influence.
Painted in France in 1888, Van Gogh's
Cafe Terrace at Night is
said to be his own adaptation
of The Last Supper scene.
Looking closely you can
see that there are clearly
twelve diners all seated
around a central figure
with long hair.
Plus there are multiple
crosses hidden in the painting
including one in the
window directly behind
the presumed Jesus figure.
Not convinced yet, it is
worth noting that Van Gogh,
the son of a Protestant
minister was very religious.
So religious that when
he wrote his brother
in respect to his painting,
he insisted that the world
had a tremendous need for religion.
Number three is American
Gothic by Grant Wood.
American Gothic by Grant
Wood was painted in 1930.
This painting features
two seemingly boring
and ordinary farmer folk
posing for a picture
in front of an American
Gothic-style house.
However when it comes to famous paintings,
nothing is ever as it seems.
Looking closer at the painting,
we see that the woman has
a loose strand falling out
of her tied back hair and wears a brooch
featuring the Greek goddess Persephone.
Persephone known in Greek mythology
as the Goddess of the Underworld,
Spring and Vegetation,
also has a dark past.
Myth has it that Persephone
was abducted and raped
by the Greek goddess Hades,
King of the Underworld.
Is the loose hair on the
woman in American Gothic
an indication that Wood
was actually creating
a modern-Day version of the Greek legend?
It's worth noting that
the pitchfork you see
the farmer holding in the
painting is eerily similar
to Hades two-pronged signature weapon.
Number four is the Mona
Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci.
Famous for her elusive
smile, her following you
all-the-time eyes and the
fact that she may actually
be the womanized self-portrait of painter,
Mona Lisa's meaning and identity
has intrigued historians for ages.
Painted in 1503, Da Vinci
was back at it again
hiding secret messages
and meanings in his work.
Historians in Italy have just discovered
that when Mona Lisa's eyes are magnified,
tiny numbers and letters can be seen.
A distinctive L, V is
found in her right eye
which many assume to stand
for Leonardo Da Vinci
as well as undistinguishable
symbols in her left eye.
On the bridge in the background,
the number 72 appears
along with the number 149
on the back of the painting.
Are all these numbers just coincidence?
Are historians looking for
something that just isn't there?
Well many experts insist that
these letters and numbers
are code for a real-life
Da Vinci code-like puzzle.
However nobody has ever even
come close to solving it.
Number five is The Creation
of Adam by Michelangelo.
One of the most iconic images of all time,
The Creation of Adam was
painted by Michelangelo
in 1512 as part of his commissioned work
on the Sistine Chapel.
As well as being renowned as
one of the greatest painters
and sculptors to come out
of the Italian Renaissance,
Michelangelo was also an
enthusiastic student of anatomy.
If you take a closer look
at The Creation of Adam
you will notice that the cape behind God
very clearly resembles
the outline of a brain.
Right down to the pituitary
stock, Michelangelo managed
to incorporate many complex
components of the brain.
American scientists have confirmed that
The Creation of Adam
as well as other panels
done by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel
feature true anatomical sketches.
It was well-known that
Michelangelo harbored resentment
for the church in regards to
their dismissal of science.
Perhaps this was his revenge.
Number six is An Accident by L.S. Lowry.
An Accident was painted
in 1926 by British artist
L.S. Lowry as part of his
famous Matchstick Men style.
Lowry was known for painting
scenes of industrial England,
that subtly featured
everyday human suffering.
While An Accident is not
blatantly about anything
necessarily negative, if you
look at the right-hand corner
of the painting, you will
notice a small crowd gathering
by the town lake.
This was to be reflective of
the scene of an actual suicide
of a young local woman who drowned herself
in the town's square not long
before Lowry painted this scene.
However what is found to
be the most unsettling
is how this suicide is
a background incident,
indication that death is not
important to anyone there.
You will notice that some matchstick men
seem to be interested in the scene,
others just keep going with their lives.
The hidden message is that
our pain doesn't matter at all
and we are inevitably all alone.
Number seven is Isabella
by John Everett Millais.
Painted in 1849 by English
painter John Everett Millais,
Isabella depicts a scene
from Giovanni Boccaccio's
Decameron novel.
Looking closely at the
man in the left foreground
with his leg outstretched
and nutcracker in his hand,
you will notice a certain
private-shaped shadow
on the table.
Strange how this phallic-looking
shadow lines up perfectly
with this figure's crotch.
In addition the salt
spilled across the shadow
may signify more than
just some white salt.
It's noth wording that
the Decameron, the book
on which this scene was based,
has often been described
as the most erotic book ever written.
It wasn't until 2012 that
these details were discovered
so while the intention of the
artist can not be confirmed,
many art curators are quick
to validate that masturbation
and the anxiety of
controlling your sexuality
were well-known troubles at the time
that this piece was painted.
Number eight is Man,
Controller of the Universe
by Diego Rivera.
Man, Controller of the Universe
was painted by Diego Rivera in 1934.
Originally commissioned
for the Rockefeller Center
in New York city, it was destroyed
by Nelson Rockefeller
before it was finished
due to the fact that it featured images
of a Soviet-Russian Mayday parade.
Completely insulted and unimpressed
with Mr. Rockefeller,
Rivera took to Mexico
to finish what he started
but not without plotting
his revenge first.
The finished mural features
recent scientific discoveries
in it's central cross
including exploding suns,
galaxies and close-ups of bacteria swarms.
When Rivera finished
his painting in Mexico,
he featured Mr. Rockefeller
right under a very specific
bacteria swarm, the
bacteria being syphilis.
It looks like Rivera's work was implying
that Mr. Rockefeller
had syphilis and to add
further insult to injury,
the featured Mr. Rockefeller
is standing by a woman with a
martini, likely a prostitute.
Number nine is An Allegory
with Venus and Cupid
by Agnolo Bronzino.
Painted in 1545 by Italian
painter Agnolo Bronzino
this painting features
Venus and Cupid making love.
While some people claim that this painting
is simply about love, beauty and jealousy,
compelling evidence was
brought forward in 1986
that the characters unmistakably showed
clinical signs of syphilis.
Looking at the figures in the background
they are all evidently
ill with swollen fingers
and missing fingernails.
Their toothless gums
suggest mercury poisoning.
Mercury being the closest
thing to an STI treatment
available at the time.
Even the little guy that's
showering Venus and Cupid
with rose petals has got the disease.
If you look closely at his right foot
he appears to have stepped on a rose thorn
and not have noticed.
Once again an indication
that someone got carried away
in the throes of passion.
On it's own, this painting
is disturbing but it's secret
message about the effects
of syphilis is worse.
And number ten is the
Portrait of Bill Clinton
by John Nelson Shanks.
As is traditional for all presidents,
former United States
President Bill Clinton
had his portrait commissioned
by a well-known artist
John Nelson Shanks.
Having done portraits for many celebrities
and politicians from Ronald
Reagan to Princess Diana,
Mr. Shanks seemed like a
perfect fit for the job.
This portrait is of the former President
standing beside the
mantle in the Oval Office.
Seemingly an innocent image, right?
Painted in 2005 in a
studio in Philadelphia
news of a secret message
hidden in the portrait
didn't break until 2015.
Mr. Shanks finally
admitted that the shadow
that you can see on
the mantle was actually
an outline of the infamous
DNA-stained blue dress
that Monica Lewinsky wore
during their infamous romp
in the White House.
Shanks said in an interview
with People magazine
that the shadow of the dress on the mantle
acts as a metaphor for the mark
of the popular sex scandal.
Just goes to show you that
pictures are sometimes
worth more than a thousand words.
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