Have you ever looked at a piece of art in your living room and wondered if it had a secret to tell? While only you can answer that question, scientists have been able to establish the facts behind these following four secrets, which were indeed hidden within the frames of some extremely famous pieces of art (except the last one).
The Mysterious Man in The Blue Room
Even people who have little idea about art know Picasso’s The Blue Room, but what even the art connoisseurs had no idea about until just a few years ago is the fact that it has a hidden picture beneath the paint. The Blue Room stays true to its name as it has a predominant bluish hue in both color and mood, but the man with a bowtie, which infrared scanning and multi-spectral imaging reveal to us, is more mysterious than anything else. Although the identity of the man is not yet known, he clearly preceded The Blue Room on the same canvas, before the great artist changed his mind.
The Hidden Roman Fresco in The Louvre
It only makes sense that the world’s biggest and most famous art museum had a hidden Roman fresco under one of the paintings. The famous 19th-century art collector, Giampietro Campana, was a painter himself and, in his time, he had painted quite a few frescos. Strangely enough, under one of his own works, scientists managed to find an ancient fresco that is of Roman origin and was originally painted thousands of years ago. The Terahertz spectroscopy managed to reveal little more than an eye, a nose, and a mouth, but the discovery itself was astounding enough.
The Woman underneath Patch of Grass
Back in 2008, a scan using X-ray technology in particle accelerators unveiled a mysterious woman under Van Gogh’s famous Patch of Grass. The woman is likely of peasant origin although her identity cannot possibly be known. The discovery was marvelous, but it should be noted that back in the day when Van Gogh used to paint, poor artists reusing their canvases was not uncommon.
The Whitewashed Da Vinci
Admittedly, this one doesn’t involve a famous canvas hiding another picture within it, but it does involve something which is no less interesting. One of Leonardo Da Vinci’s huge murals was discovered on a wall in Sforza Castle, after being hidden under about 20 layers of whitewash for an unknown number of decades. Luckily, the painting was discovered in time. Restoration work is still in progress to restore this mural to its former glory. In case you are wondering, it’s a number of trees that went the full height of the wall and formed a pergola on top of the ceiling.
If all these artistic mysteries and their discoveries got you intrigued and you happen to love art, then head on over to Fine Art America and find yourself a piece that calls out to you. They happen to be the world’s largest online marketplace for art and print-on-demand technology, so you are sure to find more than just one piece to your liking.
Fine art is a joy, so add some to your home!