8 secrets of famous paintings

Picasso, Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Salvador Dali. You may not believe it, but his main works hide mysteries, tricks and some curious stories.

we, from awesome.clubwe now share some of these cases.

The subjectivity of art

Paul Gauguin, “Bretton — Village in Snow” 1894.

The work was sold after Gauguin’s death for only 7 francs, and under the strange name of “Niagara Falls”. You will ask, “Where did someone find the falls in this picture?” Well, the auctioneer hung the painting upside down. In this case it is a little (a little!) easier to see a waterfall.

Kazimir Malevich, “Black Square”, 1915

Experts have found a hidden phrase in the controversial work of the Russian artist. The inscription reads: “Combat of blacks in a dark cave”, an allusion to a humorous painting by French artist and humorist Alphonse Allais “Fight with blacks, in a cave, at night”, represented by a completely black rectangle. In short, an inside joke between the two masters.

Pablo Picasso, “The Blue Room”, 1901

In 2008, an infrared lamp revealed that “The Blue Room” hides another image: a man dressed in a costume that has a butterfly.

This is how masterpieces are born

In 1842, Mrs Simon was traveling by train through England. And it started to rain heavily. An elderly gentleman seated opposite her opened the window, stuck his head out and stared at the rainy landscape for about 10 minutes. Unable to contain her curiosity, the lady also opened the window to enjoy the view. A year later, at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes, she came across a painting of the same scene in which she had participated.

Michelangelo’s Anatomy

Some American experts say that Michelangelo left some anatomy illustrations in one of his most famous works. According to them, the right part of the painting shows a huge brain. The surprising thing is that, when looking carefully, it is possible to distinguish components of the organ, such as the cerebellum, optic nerves and the pituitary gland. And the green band coincides perfectly with the cerebral artery.

112 proverbs in one picture

Pieter Brueghel the Elder, “Dutch Proverbs”, 1559

Pieter Brueghel the Elder represented, in this work, the most current Dutch proverbs of his time. Therefore, it is possible to identify 112 of them, some of which are still valid today and are universal, such as the expressions ‘swimming against the current’ and ‘armed to the teeth’.

Van Gogh’s Last Supper

Vincent van Gogh, “Coffee Terrace at Night”, 1888

Researcher Jared Baxter believes that Van Gogh’s famous painting has a subliminal message dedicated to the ‘Last Supper’, Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece. In the center of the painting, the image that, at first, is associated with a waiter, dressed in white, has a face that reminds of Jesus Christ and, around this waiter, there are exactly 12 customers. Wow!

It is no secret that the famous Spanish painter sought to represent his ideas and thoughts on canvas in a very realistic way. One day, he admitted that this masterpiece was inspired by associations with…melted cheese!

Translation and adaptation: awesome.club