Jump directly to the content
ART ATTACK

Mind-blowing secrets in famous paintings – including ‘hidden message in Mona Lisa’ from Da Vinci

SOME of history's most famous painters liked to hide secret meanings and messages within their brushstrokes.

Many of these hidden symbols were discovered centuries after their creators died, adding an extra element of mystery - we've summed up the best below.

 Michelangelo painted The Creation of David in the early 16th century
10
Michelangelo painted The Creation of David in the early 16th centuryCredit: Getty Images

The Creation of Adam

Michelangelo snuck a bunch of secret symbols into the nine biblical panels he painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel during the 16th century.
The most famous of these panels, The Creation of Adam, is no exception, and contains a hat-tip to the Italian artist's love of anatomy.

It wasn’t until 1990 that American physician Frank Lynn Meshberger noted that the shapes and figures on the side representing God also make up an anatomically accurate figure of the human brain.

 American physician Frank Lynn Meshberger believes the shape on the side representing God depicts the human brain
10
American physician Frank Lynn Meshberger believes the shape on the side representing God depicts the human brainCredit: News.com.au

The spinal cord, the cerebellum, the vertebral artery - they’re all there in some shape or form.

Michelangelo was apparently an expert in human anatomy after taking up the grisly job of dissecting corpses from a church graveyard aged just 17.

Michelangelo could have just been suggesting that our brain is an extension of God, or that God gave us intelligence.

On the other hand, he could be suggesting that God is the creation and projection of the human brain — a man-made concept.

The Ambassadors

 The Ambassadors features a strange skull illusion
10
The Ambassadors features a strange skull illusion
The 1533 painting, "The Ambassadors," features an eerie illusion at the bottom.
German artist Hans Holbeinthe Younger painted a lopsided shape that if read from right to left appears to be a human skull.
It's thought the symbol was meant to be a reminders that death is always around the corner.

The Old Guitarist

 The Old Guitarist was painted in the early 1900s by Pablo Picasso
10
The Old Guitarist was painted in the early 1900s by Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso left something hidden underneath his early 1900s depiction of an elderly man cradling a guitar.
Infrared scans performed in 1998 revealed a painting of a woman hidden underneath the Spanish artist's piece.
As the paint has faded over time, it has now become easier to see the sketch just above the man's neck.
Picasso regularly reused canvases when he wasn't happy with a painting, as they were expensive at the time.

Mona Lisa

 The Mona Lisa has letters hidden in her eyes, according to one scholar
10
The Mona Lisa has letters hidden in her eyes, according to one scholarCredit: Getty - Contributor
One of the most famous paintings in history, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa has baffled art-lovers for centuries with her puzzling half-smile.
But that's not the mystery surrounding the 15th century painting.
Scholar Silvano Vinceti claimed in 2010 that he had found the letter "S" in the woman's left eye.
He also said the letter "L" was painted into her right eye, and the number "72" under the arched bridge in the backdrop of the masterpiece.
According to Vinceti, the "L" likely stands for da Vinci's first name, while the "S" is an initial for the model who sat for the Renaissance artist.
The "72" may simply refer to important numbers in Christianity and Judaism, according to Vinceti.
For instance, "7" refers to the creation of the world, and the number "2" could refer to the duality of men and women.

Netherlandish Proverbs

 This painting contains depictions of more than 100 proverbs
10
This painting contains depictions of more than 100 proverbs
Dutch artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder painted this piece in 1559.
Within it, he hid depictions of at least 112 identifiable proverbs.
Some of those featured include "banging one's head against a wall" and "armed to the teeth."

The Virgin Of The Rocks

 State-of-the-art imaging techniques have found Leonardo's early sketches for the angel and the infant Christ (white outlines)
10
State-of-the-art imaging techniques have found Leonardo's early sketches for the angel and the infant Christ (white outlines)Credit: The National Gallery, London

Drawings made by Leonardo da Vinci underneath one of his most popular paintings were revealed by researchers last year.

Scribbles from the Renaissance master were found buried underneath his 16th Century work The Virgin Of The Rocks.

It uncovered Leonardo's initial designs for the angel and the infant Christ, with "significant differences to how they look in the finished painting", experts said.

Experts at National Gallery in London spent months using imaging techniques on the "abandoned" 1508 composition.

Terrace at night

 Vincent Van Gogh painted The Terrace at Night in 1888
10
Vincent Van Gogh painted The Terrace at Night in 1888Credit: Alamy

Terrace at Night is one of Vincent Van Gogh’s most famous paintings.

An oil on canvas painting from the 19th century, it depicts a group of anonymous patrons enjoying the evening cafe scene in Arles, France.

But many critics believe this was actually Van Gogh’s way of depicting the Last Supper.

 Many believe Terrace at Night was meant to represent the Last Supper
10
Many believe Terrace at Night was meant to represent the Last SupperCredit: Alamy

Van Gogh was a deeply religious man, and critics believe many of his paintings represented Christian imagery.

In Terrace at Night, there are clearly 12 people seated down to eat, with a long-haired figure in a long white robe standing between them.

You could go a step further and suggest the ominous shadowy figure on the left represents Judas, the disciple who subsequently betrayed Jesus in the Bible.

The Accident

 There is a dark meaning behind LS Lowry's The Accident
10
There is a dark meaning behind LS Lowry's The AccidentCredit: News.com.au

This British painting seems innocent enough, but there’s a dark meaning behind it.

It’s part of English artist L.S. Lowry’s “Matchstick Men” series, for which he is best known.

The distinctive series features urban landscapes littered with human figures, and generally portrays working-class life in England in the early 20th century.

This one, from 1926, is called The Accident. It looks totally innocent — just a group of people gathered in a town square, going about their daily business.

But the scene was actually inspired by an incident in Pendlebury, Manchester, where a woman committed suicide by drowning. The townspeople are all gathered to watch the corpse floating in the water.

If you look carefully towards the lower right-hand corner of the scene, you can make out a river, where various figures are crowding around the victim.

This gives the title of the painting an ironic twist: her death was clearly no accident.

contributed to this story.

Banksy Birmingham mural guarded by security and rails after vandal 'spray paints' artwork

In other news, a hidden message about humanity’s fall to Satan was recently uncovered in a famous 350-year-old English Bible poem.

Crackpots have some bonkers theories about signs of "aliens and UFOs" littered across famous artworks.

And, archaeologists recently claimed to have found the lost grotto of an ancient seductress from Homer’s Odyssey.

What do you think of the paintings' secret messages? Let us know in the comments!


We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at [email protected]