Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon series is largely fictional. Even so, the books popularised the idea that a famous painting might conceal hidden secrets. You may be surprised to learn that there are, in fact, several famous paintings that do contain hidden secrets: Some have been confirmed by experts, while others continue to baffle the world.
Before you get too excited and imagine secrets worthy of a thriller movie in the mould of The Da Vinci Code (2006), bear in mind that these hidden painting secrets range from innocuous self-insertions to deeply philosophical or spiritual messages. Some paintings conceal specific facts about their subject in plain sight, which can’t be deciphered unless you pay close attention. Others are symbolic of something religious, and at least one contains an illusion so masterful that it still fools anyone who hasn’t been told about it.
These famous paintings show that the minds behind them belonged to intensely observant people. Imagine depicting a city’s flora so accurately in the 15th century that researchers are still awestruck more than 500 years later. That’s what Sandro Botticelli achieved. And even if this list doesn’t include any works by Leonardo da Vinci (for he possibly never painted something that contains hidden codes or clues), it does feature one by Michelangelo, the other great master of the Renaissance, whose iconic work not only celebrates science and religion but also suggests a link between the two.
Painting secrets: 10 works of art with hidden details and symbolism
The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck
Year: 1434
Located at: National Gallery, London, England
The Arnolfini Portrait is a double portrait, meaning it depicts two individuals, possibly the Italian merchant Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife, in their home in Bruges, Belgium.
One of the hidden secrets in the painting appears behind the couple, on the wall above the mirror, where the inscription reads: “Johannes de eyck fuit hic 1434” (“Jan van Eyck was here, 1434”). The mirror also reflects two men; although this has not been confirmed, one of them is often thought to be the artist.
If you look closely at the woman, you might assume she is pregnant. Many people still believe this today, even though art historians have rejected the interpretation.
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Primavera by Sandro Botticelli
Year: 1470s or 1480s
Located at: Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy
This painting by Sandro Botticelli, an Italian artist of the Early Renaissance, is renowned for its hidden details. Did you know that experts have confirmed it accurately depicts individual plants from at least 138 different species? That level of attention to detail is remarkable for a work of art created more than five centuries ago. In fact, the painting includes the full range of Tuscany’s spring flora.
It is also believed that the painting, which depicts nine figures from Greek mythology, marked a departure from much of the art of the time, which tended to focus on Christian themes. In it, we see gods and goddesses such as Venus, Cupid and Chloris. Although no one has been able to determine exactly what the figures are meant to signify, the consensus is that the painting celebrates love.
The painting is thought to have been commissioned by the influential Medici family, specifically Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, a cousin of Lorenzo the Magnificent. It was originally displayed in the Medici family’s country residence, alongside Botticelli’s best-known work, The Birth of Venus.
The Madonna with Saint Giovannino by Domenico Ghirlandaio
Year: Circa 15th century
Located at: Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy
This painting is generally attributed to Ghirlandaio, although various authors have also cited Filippino Lippi, Sebastiano Mainardi and Jacopo del Sellaio as possible artists. Regardless of its true creator, one of the greatest mysteries in famous paintings can be found in The Madonna with Saint Giovannino.
It is not only a painting of immense significance in both the artistic and religious worlds, but also, rather intriguingly, to those researching unidentified flying objects (UFOs). It depicts the Madonna with the infant Christ and St John the Baptist, the latter being the patron saint of Florence. What has intrigued everyone, from researchers to conspiracy theorists, is a black, disk-shaped object in the sky to the right of the Madonna. In the background, the silhouette of a person with a dog can be seen looking up towards the disk.
Art historians believe it is nothing more than a cloud, similar to those found in other paintings of the Nativity or Adoration. Alien enthusiasts, however, argue that it is a UFO. They claim that the Madonna appears to be shielding the infant Jesus and the child St John the Baptist from the object. Perhaps this is why the painting is famously referred to as Madonna dell’UFO.
The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo
Year: 1511
Located in: Sistine Chapel, Vatican City
Widely regarded as one of the greatest works of Western art, The Creation of Adam is a stunning testament to Michelangelo’s genius and is often seen as emblematic of the High Renaissance. The fresco forms part of a series of paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, commissioned by Pope Julius II in 1508. In the internet age, it has become an enduring pop culture symbol, inspiring countless memes, GIFs and other reinterpretations.
Interestingly, there is a detail hidden in plain sight in The Creation of Adam, which underlines Michelangelo’s interest in anatomy. Inspired by the Genesis phrase, “God created man in his own image”, the fresco shows Adam on the left with his hand outstretched. God, surrounded by angels, is on the right. The viewer’s attention is drawn to their hands, poised just short of touching.
Now look at the billowing red mantle behind God and the angels. Some researchers argue that its outline closely resembles the human brain. This interpretation was first proposed in 1990 by physician Frank Meshberger, who published a paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association contending that the shape constitutes a remarkably accurate anatomical depiction of a cross-section of the brain.
A different team of researchers found a similar anatomical reference in another Michelangelo-painted fresco of the Sistine Chapel, Separation of Light from Darkness (1512), in 2010.
The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the Younger
Year: 1533
Located at: National Gallery, London, England
It looks like any other famous double portrait, but The Ambassadors has a reputation for being one of the most famous paintings with hidden messages. And it isn’t just one; there are so many that you wonder what exactly was going on in Hans Holbein the Younger’s head.
First, who are the gentlemen in the painting? On the left is Jean de Dinteville, who was the French ambassador to England at the time. On the right is Georges de Selve, the Bishop of Lavaur, also French. Dinteville and de Selve were close friends and posed for Holbein when Dinteville was on his second diplomatic mission to England on behalf of Francis I, King of France.
Now, about the hidden messages. There are many, but the most prominent is an elongated human skull at the feet of the two men. This anamorphic skull has been the subject of analysis for centuries. It is believed that Holbein may have been alluding to the mortality of all living things. Viewers can see the skull assume its proper shape either by changing their viewing angle or, more modernly, through a tube.
There are more objects in clear view that have puzzled analysts for years. For instance, on the table are a celestial globe and four timekeeping instruments. On the lower shelf is an arithmetic book, open to a page showing the process of division; a lute with a broken string; and a Lutheran hymnal opened to the hymn Veni Sancte Spiritus and the Ten Commandments.
It is believed that the objects and the pages refer to the division within the Church. At the time the painting was made, Pope Clement VII had refused to annul the marriage of Henry VIII, King of England, to Queen Catherine. The English king wanted to marry Anne Boleyn, which he did in defiance of the Pope in 1533. Henry VIII also broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and, a year after this painting was made, was declared Supreme Head of the Church of England by an Act of Parliament.
The Night Watch by Rembrandt
Year: 1642
Located at: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn is renowned as one of the greatest artists of all time. The Night Watch is his most famous work and is hailed as one of history’s greatest paintings. The life-size canvas measures 3.65 by 4.26 metres, following the loss of around 0.6 metres from the left and top edges in 1715.
The painting depicts men from the Civic Guard of District II under the command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, who stands in the centre foreground wearing a white lace collar.
The work contains numerous vignettes that have captivated analysts for decades, but two in particular stand out. One is an eye peering from behind two men towards the back of Captain Cocq. That partially visible face has been identified as the artist himself — unsurprising, given Rembrandt’s habit of inserting his likeness into his paintings.
An even more significant discovery came in 2021, when the Rijksmuseum revealed a hidden sketch beneath the painted surface. The Rijksmuseum discovered that Rembrandt made the sketch using chalk as a preparatory drawing. The discovery also showed that the artist made changes to the characters and other depictions before creating the final output.
The painting is also rich in symbolism. One striking example is the young girl within the group. She wears a golden dress and has flowing blonde hair. Tied to her waistband is a chicken, with its claw prominently displayed. The girl serves as the personification of the company, whose emblem was a golden claw.
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A Lady at the Virginals with a Gentleman by Johannes Vermeer
Year: Early 1660s
Located at: Royal Collection Trust
Also known as The Music Lesson, this painting is in the Royal Collection and is owned by King Charles III. It entered the British royal collection when King George III acquired it in 1762.
So why does it belong on this list? In this work, the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer depicts two people who appear to be in love — without making it explicitly obvious. The figures, a man and a woman, sit towards the back of the scene, partly obscured by furniture and musical instruments that occupy much of the space and initially draw the viewer’s attention.
The woman, a pupil, has her back to the viewer, yet her face is visible in the mirror above the virginal she is playing. Look closely, and you will see that her gaze is not on the keys: It has drifted towards the man — possibly her teacher — standing beside her. The man, meanwhile, has his mouth slightly open, as though he is singing along with her. He looks in her direction, though not directly into her eyes. If you examine the lid of the virginal, you can make out the words “MUSICA LETITIAE CO[ME]S / MEDICINA DOLOR[IS]”, meaning: “Music is a companion in pleasure and a balm in sorrow.”
It has therefore been suggested that the pair are in love, or at least that an emotional tension exists between them, though it is impossible to determine how far their relationship has progressed.
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer
Year: 1665
Located at: Mauritshuis, The Hague, the Netherlands
Girl with a Pearl Earring is often described as one of the greatest optical illusions in art history. The illusion is hiding in plain sight, and it gives the painting its name: The “pearl” earring. Vermeer tricks the brain into reading the bright highlight and soft, pale tones as a lustrous pearl. Yet a closer look suggests the ornament is not even attached to the girl’s ear. It is a deft display of Vermeer’s skill, using light and paint to create the impression of a pearl without clearly defining its form.
That the “pearl” is essentially an illusion was supported by research carried out by the Mauritshuis in The Hague. Abbie Vandivere, who led the team, told The Guardian in 2020 that the earring “has no contour and also no hook to hang it from the girl’s ear”. The researchers also found that the girl has eyelashes, but they are so faint that they are difficult to see with the naked eye. The greatest mystery, however, remains the sitter herself. To this day, no one knows who the girl was.
Café Terrace at Night by Vincent Van Gogh
Year: 1888
Located at: Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, the Netherlands
Vincent van Gogh’s Café Terrace at Night depicts an outdoor café scene after dark. Painted en plein air in Arles, France, the setting has been identified as the Café du Forum on the Place du Forum. Van Gogh was so observant that astronomical research has shown the stars in the painting match the night sky of 16 or 17 September 1888, when the Dutch master created the work.
However, that is not all. According to some researchers, the painting has a connection to Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. Certain elements in Café Terrace at Night appear to share symbolic themes with da Vinci’s masterpiece. There are 12 diners in the painting, which the researchers link to the 12 apostles. The standing central figure among the diners is thought to be van Gogh’s symbolic representation of Jesus. The window bars behind the standing figure form a cross. Similarly, a shadowy figure seemingly leaving the dining area is believed to represent Judas.
Van Gogh never mentioned such an inspiration for this painting during his lifetime. However, the theory has gained support from a letter he wrote to his brother, Theo, less than two weeks after creating the painting.
“That doesn’t stop me having a tremendous need for, shall I say the word — for religion — so I go outside at night to paint the stars, and I always dream a painting like that, with a group of lively figures of the pals,” he wrote from Arles on or around 29 September 1888.
El Autobus by Frida Kahlo
Year: 1929
Located at: Dolores Olmedo Collection, Mexico City, Mexico
Mexican painter and feminist icon Frida Kahlo was involved in a bus accident on 17 September 1925, when she was only 18 years old. The accident was nearly fatal. Among her many serious injuries were a broken spinal column, 11 fractures in her leg and a punctured abdomen caused by an iron handrail.
Some of Kahlo’s paintings, following her recovery, allude to that accident. But she never painted anything that shows the accident directly. However, it is believed that El Autobus is possibly the closest depiction of the day when the accident took place.
The painting shows what looks like an ordinary bus ride in Mexico with men and women from all walks of life as passengers. It is, however, believed that the painting also harbours a secret — it shows Kahlo and the people in the bus involved in the accident. The woman on the right of the painting is said to be Kahlo. The man next to her, holding a pouch, is believed to be the one who pulled out the handrail from her body. It is also believed that his pouch contained the gold dust, which was found all over Kahlo’s body following the accident.
(Hero image: Courtesy of Rembrandt, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Michelangelo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Sandro Botticelli, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Frida Kahlo (Life time: July 6, 1907 – 13 July, 1954), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons / Featured image: Courtesy of Johannes Vermeer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Note : The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.