8 Paintings Whose Hidden Meanings You Never Knew About

1. Jan van Eyck, "The Arnolfini Portrait" (National Gallery, London)

You might be surprised to learn that Pollock was not the first to feel the urge to say "I was here" (some believe Pollock hid a giant signature within one of his abstractions). The first to sign his own work was the great-grandfather of oil painting, Jan van Eyck. At the bottom of the painting, above the mirror on the wall, we can see the inscription "Jan van Eyck was here 1434". What's more, two figures are visible in the mirror's reflection. Looking at them through a magnifying glass, one of them - believed to be the painter himself - can be seen raising a hand to wave at future viewers (see the photo below).

Art historian Erwin Panofsky developed a theory that this painting is a marriage document for Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife Giovanna Cenami. However, in 1990 a document was discovered that disproved this theory - the couple actually married in 1447, a full 14 years after the painting was made. Giovanna also appears to be pregnant, yet it is known that
the woman died without having had any children. Historians say that at the time it was fashionable among women to dress in a way that made them look pregnant - in other words, fertility itself was in fashion.

2. Francisco de Goya, "The Nude Maja" (Prado Museum, Madrid)

This nude by Goya was banned by the Inquisition as indecent and harmful to public morality. The fact that the head and body do not quite align even suggests that Goya was being careful about the beauty's identity. Many consider this nude to be the most sensual painting in art history, but who is she? Suspicion falls on Pepita Tudó, the mistress of Manuel de Godoy, Spain's controversial prime minister during the Peninsular War. It is believed that the prime minister commissioned the painting. Also suspected is María del Pilar, the beautiful and passionate Duchess of Alba, one half of the wealthiest couple in Spain. Goya is thought to have had an affair with her.

3. Sandro Botticelli, "Primavera" (Uffizi Gallery, Florence)

This painting was commissioned by the banker Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici. It is claimed that Lorenzo himself posed for the figure of Mercury, while Flora is a portrait of his wife, Semiramide. An interesting fact: the painting's title was not chosen by the artist himself! The title "Primavera" ("Spring") was given to the work in 1550 by the art historian of the time, Giorgio Vasari.

But let's talk about what is actually depicted. A joyful celebration of feminine beauty and grace? A pagan ode to the season of renewal? It isn't that simple. Botticelli's masterpiece is not only every botanist's dream (it depicts more than 500 different plant species). It also contains hints of a conspiracy against the Medici and of efforts to unite Christianity, Judaism and Islam (an idea popular at the Medici court). This may seem like a stretch, but keep in mind that sixteenth-century Florence was a true hornet's nest, where everyone was scheming about something, and Botticelli was himself attached to the fire-and-brimstone friar Savonarola, who was later burned at the stake in the city square.

4. Johannes Vermeer, "The Music Lesson" (Royal Collection, London)

However calm Vermeer's paintings may appear, they are full of symbols of passion and hints of eroticism. Here, a young woman touches the keys of a virginal, an instrument associated with purity. She appears focused and absorbed in the music, but if we look closely at the mirror's reflection, we see that she is in fact looking at her teacher - distracted by his masculinity. The wine jug on the table symbolizes an aphrodisiac, while the large stringed instrument lying on the floor is still regarded today as a phallic symbol.

5. Michelangelo, ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (Vatican)

No self-respecting sixteenth-century artist would have agreed to take on a project the size of the Sistine Chapel ceiling without wanting to leave behind at least a few riddles for future generations. For one thing, a number of anatomical sketches are hidden within the figures' clothing and body parts. In "The Separation of Light from Darkness", for example, God's neck and chin form the shape of a brain, the image cleverly concealed. Why did Michelangelo do this, you ask? Some believe it was a challenge to a Church that dismissed science. More recently, a new theory has emerged that a kabbalistic message is encoded across nine episodes of the Book of Genesis - the poses of the figures are said to resemble letters of the Hebrew alphabet. It is thought that in this way Michelangelo depicted a bond between Catholics and Jews. In the composition of David and Goliath, for instance, the Hebrew letter gimel is said to be encoded.

6. Vincent van Gogh, "Café Terrace at Night" (Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo)

To most people, this is one of van Gogh's most important works. You are probably seeing an unremarkable scene painted in the artist's distinctive style. And yet many believe this painting actually depicts the Last Supper.

Let's look at the evidence that might lead to such a conclusion. First, van Gogh was the son of a Protestant pastor, and so a deeply religious man. For this reason alone, many believe the artist's work reflects a connection between art and the Christian pictorial tradition. Second, the Last Supper is the final occasion on which Christ dines with his twelve disciples. Count them, and you will find exactly twelve people sitting in the café, with a long-haired figure standing in the middle.

Coincidence? Perhaps, but once you count all the crosses hidden in the painting as well, including one directly above the figure resembling Christ, there is a great deal of evidence suggesting the painting is van Gogh's own interpretation of the "Last Supper".

7. Leonardo da Vinci, "The Last Supper" (Santa Maria delle Grazie)

From van Gogh's copy to the original - and this time we're not talking about Dan Brown-style ciphers, but about a secret message that will quite literally ring in your ears.

Look closely at da Vinci's painting and you will see a row of bread rolls arranged horizontally across the middle of the composition. A musician recently noticed that if you draw a musical staff over the scene, the rolls in the apostles' hands turn into musical notes. Read from right to left, as da Vinci liked to write, the notes form a melodic, forty-second-long composition. Even skeptics agree the melody sounds far too harmonious to be mere coincidence. Besides painting, sculpture, physics and astronomy, da Vinci also had a keen interest in music.

8. Pieter Bruegel, "Netherlandish Proverbs" (Staatliche Museen, Berlin, Germany)

This painting is an illustration of a great many old Netherlandish proverbs. Experts count more than 125 proverbs within it, though it is said that these are not all of them. Many proverbs have not survived to the present day, so they can no longer be identified. Perhaps, with careful study, we might even discover figures representing Lithuanian proverbs too?