Entering the hall of the museum, we often do not think about the meaning that the artist put into one or another painting. We try to run through the museum as quickly as possible to see more. But, it is better to see less and better, than more and remember nothing. And in order to better understand what mysteries art hides from us, we offer a story about the most mysterious paintings of Western art.
«Mona Lisa» (1503-1506) Leonardo da Vinci. Probably, this is the most famous painting in the history. And on the other hand, it is the most shrouded in various assumptions, riddles and versions of the origin. It is not even known for sure who this mysterious woman is in the portrait. The most reliable version is the portrait of Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of a Florentine merchant. Yes, recently there has been a lot of speculation about the fact that under the portrait, that can be seen now, there is another image (and there are already options from a pregnant Donna Lisa to a self-portrait of Leonardo or even a female portrait painted by the beloved student of the artist Salai). Of course, there may be several other images under the color layer we see now. Artists often reground their old works and painted new paintings on them.
The mystery of the painting also lies in the fact that the portrait was not handed over to the customer. But this is not a news for Leonardo either. He rarely finished his works. Perhaps it was here that Leonardo tried to perfect the sfumato technique (a painting technique for softening the transition between colors, scattering of the light, which leads to the effect of aerial perspective).
But the real star of «Gioconda» was made by the Louvre (Musée du Louvre), which used all the achievements of modern PR after the theft and return of the painting at the beginning of the 20th century. You can read more about this story in the article «The story of the abduction of the Mona Lisa» at our website.
«The Creation of Adam» (Creazione di Adamo) (1512) is a fresco painting by Italian artist Michelangelo Buonarroti, that is without exaggeration the most famous fragment of the Sistine Chapel frescoes and one of the most recognizable frescoes in the world. It is believed that Michelangelo took as a basis for this composition a fragment from the Porta del Paradiso (Gates of Paradise) by Lorenzo Ghiberti, which he saw in Florence.
The worldwide recognition of this work was brought by the advertising company «Nokia», where a replica of the fresco was used. But let’s return to the creation of this masterpiece. The colossal work on painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel meant that the figures had to be built in such a way that they would look proportional and organic from below. Michelangelo experimented a lot with angles. God is depicted in active motion, he flies as if in a shell (a symbol that came from ancient times), he is full of energy. This cannot be said about Adam, who seems to be waking up from a dream. Michelangelo did an incredible thing: he showed that the creation of Adam was not only a physical act, but also a spiritual one, as if life was breathed into Adam.
Another interesting feature was noticed by the American doctor Frank Lynn Meshberger: the shell in which God flies is similar to the structure of the human brain in cross-section. It is absolutely impossible to claim that Michelangelo did this by accident. After all, like other artists of the Renaissance, he was well versed in anatomy and even performed autopsies.
«The Night Watch» (1642) by Rembrandt van Rijn is really not nightly. The picture received such a name among the audience due to the dark background. But as it turned out during the restoration, the events take place during the day, and the colors have darkened over the time. «The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch» – this is the real name of the giant painting.
The first mystery of the painting is solved: the colors have darkened over time. But why did the artist violate the rules of the ceremonial collective portrait? Who is this mysterious girl, bathed in sunlight and looking like the artist’s recently deceased wife Saskia?
«Judith Beheading Holofernes» (1598-1599) by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. The plot about the brave Jewish woman Judith and the invading Assyrian general of the time of Nebuchadnezzar – Holofernes was one of the most favorite among painters. But Caravaggio interpreted the image of Judith differently. He abandoned her expensive outfit and depicted a woman in ordinary, everyday clothes. And in addition, he in every way emphasizes Judith’s disgust for Holofernes or for the beheading of him, which Judith carries out with her maid. If we refer to the early images of this plot, Judith is not endowed with such bright emotions. She either calmly cuts off the enemy’s head, or proudly carries it to her people. Why did Caravaggio, who, it is believed, himself was repeatedly guilty of human death, focus on the horror of the event taking place? Could this indicate that the artist was not such a scoundrel as is commonly thought of?
«The Garden of Earthly Delights» (1500-1510) Hieronymus Bosch. A triptych in which there are more questions than answers, as in all of Bosch’s works. Even the name of the triptych, like all other works of Bosch, is not known for sure. The names of his paintings were given by researchers in later eras.
The events of the triptych evolved from left to right: from Heaven to Hell. Bosch saturated the picture with a large number of terrible images and types of torture. He demonstrated sins and not only obvious bodily sins, but also those that are difficult for a modern person to understand. For example, torture is associated with musical instruments. The fact is that in the Middle Ages polyphony was considered a diabolical invention (as was the printed book later). And on the other hand, giant ears pierced by an arrow can indicate people’s deafness to gospel truths. Another vivid image is a creature with the head of a bird that eats sinners and dumps their bodies down the gullet in the shape of an hourglass. A kind of allegory of time, which is merciless to everyone.
«Girl with a Pearl Earring» (1665) by Johannes Vermeer is the artist’s business card. And the girl is often called the Dutch Mona Lisa. There is very little information about the painting. It is not known for sure who is depicted on it. Perhaps this is Vermeer’s daughter – Maria. The picture is full of tenderness and has a characteristic color for Vermeer. At the beginning of the 20th century, the most famous forger Henricus Antonius «Han» van Meegeren painted a painting very similar to «The Girl with a Pearl Earring» and sold it as a 17th-century original. This painting even was bought for the National Gallery of Art in Washington. But it has already been proven that it was a masterful forgery. In general, thanks to Meegeren, researchers of Vermeer’s paintings have got more work.
«Las Meninas» («The Ladies-in-waiting») (1656) by Diego Velázquez is a fantastic masterpiece that inspired many artists, including Pablo Picasso. And Velasquez himself took the idea of a complex construction of space from Jan van Eyck, in the painting described below.
The mystery of the picture lies in the fact that if you look closely, it becomes clear that the artist is not painting the people who are posing for him. That is, the little Infanta is clearly posing in the painting, but the artist is standing behind her. But in the mirror behind the artist, we can see the reflection of the royal couple. The canvas, which is larger than human height, in front of which Velázquez is standing, is clearly designed for a ceremonial portrait of the king and queen. But we see their beautiful daughter with her entourage, the artist at the easel and two more spaces (in the mirror and behind the door through which the valet comes out).
«The Arnolfini Portrait» («Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife») (1434) by Jan van Eyck is a painting from which Velázquez borrowed the technique with the mirror. Van Eyck’s most famous painting shows us a married couple: The Florentine merchant Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife. Perhaps the painting depicts their home in Bruges. There is a version that Arnolfini’s wife died (a candle went out above her head) and the husband ordered a family portrait as a sign of loyalty to his wife. This statement is supported by the image of a dog.
But also you should pay attention to the beautiful mirror in which two people are visible. It is probably Jan van Eyck himself with his brother Hubert or with his student. This is not the only painting by van Eyck where these two appear. The mirror is decorated in a frame with an image of the Passion of Christ in medallions. And here Ervin Panofsky (a leading art historian and theoretician who studied the iconology of Old Masters paintings) found another proof that the woman depicted in the painting is dead. Passions on the part of the man tell the story before the death of Jesus, and on the part of the woman – after the crucifixion.
Prominent researcher Erwin Panofsky believes that the painting depicts a wedding, and the two people reflected in the mirror are witnesses. But, the question arises, where is the priest who was supposed to consecrate this marriage and register it?
«Sistine Madonna» («Madonna di San Sisto») (1513-1514) by Raphael Santi (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino) is the most famous image of the Mother of God. The giant canvas 265×196 cm was commissioned by Pope Julius II as a sign of victory over the French troops who invaded Lombardy.
In the 16th century, Italians still painted a lot on boards, but Raphael took canvas for such a monumental work. The canvas depicts the Madonna (there is a version that it was painted from the beloved Raphael Fornarina – Margherita Luti, but there is no definitive evidence that this is really so) with baby Jesus in her arms. Next to her are Pope Sixtus II (that is why the Madonna is called the Sistine Madonna) and Saint Barbara. Sixtus II was the uncle of Julius II, so the new Pope tried to glorify his relative as much as possible and debunk the memory of the pontiff from the Borgia family. Below we see two angels who seem to lean on the lower part of the picture frame. But, in fact, this is the Holy Sepulchre. That is, Raphael tied into his composition the entire story of Christ from his birth to his sacrifice. And Maria, hovering in the picture, knows how her son’s earthly path will end.
«The Tempest» (La Tempesta) (1508) by Giorgione (Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco) is another mysterious picture of the Renaissance. Giorgione’s figure itself is quite mysterious. An outstanding artist, in whose studio Titian began his creative journey. Giorgione could have made many more beautiful paintings but he died of the plague in 1510.
As for the painting «The Tempest», its plot has not been clarified yet. Perhaps Giovanni Boccaccio`s poem «Fiesolan Nymphs» is illustrated here. Perhaps it depicts a gypsy woman and a soldier guarding her. But the question of what to protect a woman with a child in a deserted space remains open. But the most impressive is the image of nature, which gave the name to the painting by researchers of later generations. If you take a fragment of a picture with an image of lightning, then it can be a complete painting. Giorgione’s vision of nature inspired more than one generation of future artists to explore landscapes. You can read more about the art and famous artists at our website.
Learn more about the world’s most mysterious paintings at lectures on the history of European art. Also you can feel the peculiarities of painting and try the technique of oil paints at master classes of oil painting in the art studio «Lihtaryk».
Each master class or lecture of the «Lihtaryk» art studio can be presented as a gift certificate. Get to know art, be creative and enjoy life with your favorite master classes and lectures. So now you know one more exciting place where to go in Kyiv.
У меня синдром Стендаля сегодня. Утром ходили в Падуанский баптистерий. Смотрели фрески Менабуя. А после обеда у нас было посещение каппелы Скровеньи. Теперь я понимаю , что сделал Джотто для мира. Очень меня все это впечатлило в живую. Привет передала.
Мир прекрасен. Падуя очень понравилась:) спасибо за лекции Света!
Lily Golovchak
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