8 Famous Artworks With Mysterious Meanings You Never Knew
Even the most seasoned art history buff might not know the true stories behind these famous paintings.Â
A recent theory claims that this painting alludes to The Last Supper. This is because there are 12 figures who have sat down to eat with a central figure with long hair in the center.Â
Although it appears to be a sweet painting at first glance, many people claim that the painting is actually a warning about syphilis. The screaming figure in the background is the basis for this theory. The swollen hands, hair and toothless gum are all consistent with symptoms of an STD in Renaissance times.Â
Historians claim that this painting was created as a result of Botticelli's love of plants because there are over 200 different species of plants that can be identified in it.Â
This painting which was discovered in 2012 features characters from Boccaccio’s Decameron. It also appears to feature a character (on the left foreground) with an erection. Decameron is known as one of the most erotic books ever written, so this isn't a huge surprise.Â
Many people consider this painting to be one of the greatest portraits of 17th century Dutch life but others see it as a portrayal of hidden lust. The wine, the instrument and the angle from which the painting was created are all considered to be symbols of lust that the girl has for her tutor.
This painting seems pretty boring, but it's been said that it holds lots of human suffering. The scene was inspired by a local suicide and a group that gathered to see the waterlogged corpse. Many of Lowry's paintings features instances of violence, death poverty and illness.Â
Rivera's work was originally commissioned for the Rockefeller Center but was recreated in Mexico City because Nelson Rockefeller did not approve of the image of Lenin in the mural. When Rivera reconstructed the mural he added J.D. Rockefeller to the image with a martini and what many thought was a prostitute. Â
British professor Michael Baum says that this painting depicts the brutal murder of Procris from Ovid's Metamorphoses at the hands of her husband Cephalus. The story states that Cephalus, who was a hunter, mistakes her for an animal and hurls a spear at her. Professor Baum states that the positioning of the body is consistent with someone whose vertebrae were severed and who was trying to fight off a knife attack. He suspects Cosimo asked to borrow a body from the morgue and got a murder vict