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Hack the Hidden Messages in Painting! Look Behind the Brushstrokes
- Sutithi
- Jun 18
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 7
The world’s greatest artists have left some secret and hidden messages in painting, as a clue to understand the context of these creations, like some codes, art symbols and even stories embedded within. These details add meaning to the timeless classics to see them in a new light, to understand the context that triggered those masterpieces.
Once you discover these paintings with deep meaning, you will never see them again in the same way!
In this blog, we’ll try to decipher such symbolism and art with meaning that we often miss at the first glance. They can intrigue, they can confuse, more so, they communicate strange emotions that the artists deliberately insert in their creations for not everybody to see. They need a keen pair of eyes!
Leonardo Da Vinci: What's Missing in ‘Mona Lisa’
It’s not the half smile of the diva Mona Lisa, nor her eyes, not the code embedded in the painting, it is something mysterious that keeps the viewers hooked for more than 500 years, while similar portraits were buried in time! What was the secret to success?
The eyes of Mona Lisa look directly into the viewer’s eyes, as if they are following you in the room.
The facial asymmetry of Mona Lisa is to trigger something related to human perception of emotion, like how we respond to right and left-brain data processing.
In those times of Leonardo Da Vinci, portrait art depicting women was bound to showcase their class & dignity, often placing them against a stark background to highlight the grandeur, but Leonardo defied the rules.
He created a visual disharmony in Mona Lisa’s face, when seen from the right and left corner. This asymmetry is also true for the background landscape. Leonardo used his deep anatomical knowledge to draw psychological portraits. It helped him to create rare facial expressions of shifting focus. That’s why viewers are free to interpret Mona Lisa the way they found her. Mona Lisa seems to change as we look at it!
Scientific analysis and infra-red reflections reveal Leonardo da Vinci originally painted two columns on the either side of Mona Lisa which he later painted over.
The icon was painted on a wood panel not on a regular canvas to let better light absorption. His Sfumato technique also helped him create a dreamy, layered image that made her look other than real! Was Mona Lisa a feminized version of Leonardo himself – that remains a mystery!
Michelangelo: The Brain Behind the ‘Creation of Adam’
Let’s look into one of the famous paintings with symbolism on the ceiling of Sistine Chapel; Michelangelo’s creation of Adam. Looking at the picture gives a sense of God giving life to Adam, but with a closer look and watching very intensely around the God and the cluster of angels huddled together, one can see the outline of a human brain.
According to some art historians, it was Michelangelo’s trick to show divine intelligence in the shape of the human brain, that God has not just gifted life to humans, he has gifted the capacity of thought and creativity along with other things.
Maybe it’s because the great polymath Michelangelo has studied anatomy extensively and it was natural for him to draw the image of a brain or at least execute such an idea in his creation.
Jan van Eyck: ‘Arnolfini Portrait’ Seen through the Mirror
You’ll be fascinated to know how an artist of the 15th century Northern Renaissance left the proof of his presence in a masterpiece, like Jan Van Eyck’s ‘Arnolfini Portrait.’ In the rear of the image, one can see a convex mirror with the reflections of the two standing figures with intricate details.
While looking closely into the mirror, one can see another two tiny reflections of twin figures who were not seen in the painting. Who were they? One of the figures is thought to be the artist Jan Van Eyck himself!
There is an inscription above the mirror that reads ‘Jan van Eyck was here, 1434’
It is not just one of the timeless figurative artworks, or Arnolfini secret symbolism, but a record of an artist’s role in showing his presence in his creation. This can be a unique way of self-promotion for an artist back then!
Was it Caravaggio: David with the Head of Goliath
This is another striking portrait of David with the Head of Goliath; at the first glance it looks like a straightforward painting of a Biblical story of David beheading Goliath, but there is something uncanny in this image.
Take a closer look at the severed head, you’ll see that Goliath’s gigantic face is none other than the head of Caravaggio himself!
It was believed that Caravaggio’s turmoil and mental despair were depicted in the painting, as he had a troubled life and faced many accusations, etc. It is a portrayal of a deeply personal sense of sin and mortality.
Hans Holbein: The Ambassadors & a Skull in the Room!
This figurative portrait of Hans Holbein the Younger's is filled with various symbolic images including a distorted image that can only be seen from a specific angle. The painting is rich with Renaissance symbolism and explores themes of mortality, knowledge, and worldly pursuits.
In this portrait we can see two wealthy gentlemen at the Tudor court, one is a French ambassador to the court of England and another one is Bishop of Lavaur. The painting is famous as it contains a spectacular skewed image, which is portrayed in a slanting way, revealing a human skull (memento mori). The skull is deliberately placed in the picture in contrast to the wealthy possessions, to show the metaphor of death and mortality.
A broken lute, or a musical instrument lying under the table also suggests some kind of political or religious discord or lack of harmony.
Rembrandt Van Jinn: Who’s Looking through ‘The Night Watch’
There are few political paintings like Rembrandt’s 1642 masterpiece ‘The Night Watch’ that could sum up the spirit of democracy. The dynamic composition shows the art of Tenebrism, with an artistic hint of light and shadow and a rare Dutch painting symbolism.
The painting shows a group of civic guardsmen from the early Dutch republic preparing to celebrate a march, the independence from the Spanish reign. Here, Rembrandt has depicted the crowd in a noble way, not as an aggressive force.
A closer blow up of the image shows a penetrating and hidden face of someone, peering out through the shoulder of the guard, in the center of the painting. A hidden pair of eyes pop up from the rear which can be of the artist himself who empathized with the whole congregation.
Vermeer: What's Brewing in the ‘Lady at the Virginal with a Gentleman’
Johannes Vermeer, the master of light was celebrated for his portrayals of domestic scenes and use of symmetry in all of his compositions, just like in ‘Lady at the Virginal with a Gentleman.’ This painting has a queer connotation, as the two figures are deliberately alienated from the viewers.
We can see their backs and can only anticipate the relationship between the lady playing the virginal and the aristocratic man standing by her side. There’s an air of mystery about their gestures, which is heightened by the lady’s reflection in the mirror placed at the top of the instrument. We can see her face wandering from the virginal and directed towards the man. What intrigues the viewers is the chemistry between the man and the lady; is it a brewing love, or an infatuation – Vermeer keeps the viewers guessing!
Cracking the Codes: Why the Hidden Art Messages Matter!
What makes these hidden messages in painting so compelling and so impressive for an art-lover or an art historian? The secret paintings show that art is not about just what we see, but about what we discover and interpret. Each layer of it reveals the artist’s true intent, a story and a cultural narrative of the era. It’s a blend of mystery and meaning that keeps those masterpieces alive for more than 500 years, whispering a secret that needs to be hacked with a keen pair of eyes!