Why did artists in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance paint flying disks and men crossing the sky in what appear to be flying machines?
Were they surreptitiously trying to relay a message that may well have got them charged with heresy by Church leaders? If so what is the message? Could they be trying telling us that we are not alone and never have been?
Were they trying to tell a slightly different story to the one told by the Church, one that involved visitations from other worldly beings?
If it was one or even two paintings I would put it down as just a funny quirk of the artists however there are a surprising amount of paintings with what appear to be UFO's.
Welcome to Mystery History.
Pt5 UFO's in Religious Paintings.
I don't normally delve too deeply into UFO and Alien themes in my posts on Steemit however the subject of 'flying saucers' in religious art work especially Renaissance art has fascinated me since I saw this painting many years ago.
It's called Battesimo di Cristo (Baptism of Christ) and it was painted by Dutch artist Aert de Gelder in 1710.
In the foreground of a hilly landscape, Christ is baptised by St. John, amid a circle of onlookers. The two figures are brilliantly lit by rays from the disk high above, against general darkness.
I remember thinking "What the hell is that!?
The guy clearly had artistic talent, if he was trying to paint a star or the sun I'm fairly sure it would look like one or the other. Does it look like the Sun or a Star to you?
As I stated at the beginning though there are quite a few painting that raise an eyebrow, funnily enough once I decided to write a post on the subject I noticed that some of the mainstream newspapers had reported on this subject. Although predictably they roled out 'experts' to debunk the spacecraft theories with some frankly ludicrous explanations.
The following article from the sun.co.uk is a case in point.
This painting is called The Madonna with Saint Giovannino, it's. 15th century painting by Domenico Ghirlanaio which currently hangs in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy.
Let's take a look at the mainstream explanation......
A man, possibly a shepherd, and what appears to his dog are seen looking up at the sky, as a flashing disc-shaped UFO is depicted in the background.
The close up is at the top of the post.
It is claimed that many paintings of this era feature illuminated clouds which shine divine lights, and that the biblical symbolism has been misinterpreted.
A cloud eh!?
I'm fairly confident that if Ghirlanaio had wanted to paint an illuminated cloud he would have done, I'm sorry, I don't buy it, that's not a cloud. In isolation the painting is an anomaly but as I said before there are more....
Below is The Annunciation of Saint Emidius, painted in 1486 by Carlo Crivelli. This is interesting as the beam from the 'cloud' is seen to penetrate the head of the Virgin Mary.
Regarding this fascinating painting the article states...
This is an altar piece painted by Italian artist Carlo Crivelli celebrating the announcement by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would become mother of Jesus.
Theories suggest the halo of the Holy Spirit, depicted in the top left shining down a beam of light, is actually a UFO.
Another explanation says the object is a circle of clouds which features small angels and represents the Holy Spirit descending towards the Virgin Mary.
So more clouds! The golden rings within the 'cloud' interest me here as they do make it look like a craft of some kind.
Earlier in the article it states...
Internet sleuths believe some religious paintings are proof that intelligent lifeforms and flying saucers have been witnessed by ancient societies.
The paintings were created centuries before air travel was even possible.
But art historians insist there's a more simple explanation, arguing what could appear to be UFOs actually represent angels or the sun and moon.
The Sun and the Moon eh? Let's take a look at some of the representations these so called historians consider to be of the Sun and the Moon....
This is a fresco found in Svetishoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, Georgia.
A 17th century fresco of the crucifixion which can be found in the Svetishoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, Georgia. Two saucer shaped craft appear on either side of Christ.
Art historians have reportedly said these to be representational of angels watching the event, or the moon and the sun.
But during this period of Byzantine art, angels were depicted with wings and halos.
So even The Sun, a poor excuse of a newspaper doesn't buy these are representing Angels. As far as being classed as the Sun and Moon it's laughable!
What they look like is flying saucers as insane as it sounds. it's hard to argue. Although a freind of mine did suggest they could be jellyfish! I'll leave you to ponder that gem.
Continuing with the Sun, Moon and Angel theme.....
The painting above is the Crucixion of Christ, let's take a look at what the article and the experts say....
This wall mural, or fresco, from 1350 by an unknown artist can be found in the Visoki Decani Monestary in Kosovo, Serbia.
Two odd-looking objects with 'pilots' can be seen in the sky on both sides of Jesus.
“As odd as the details in the upper left and right sections of the Kosovo fresco may seem to modern eyes, they, in fact, refer to something readily familiar: the sun and the moon,” Dennis Geronimus, associate professor of Italian Renaissance at New York University, told the Huffington Post.
“None of these painted details amount to early modern UFO sightings, which isn’t to say that the Kosovo muralist’s or Carlo Crivelli’s contemporary audiences did not believe in otherworldly beings or supernatural events.”
I have a number of issues with this explanation....
- If they represent the sun and the moon why aren't they round?
- Why do they appear to be flying across the sky?
- Why do they have a pilot?
- How can anyone presume to know what an 'unknown' artist was trying to depict?
Personally I believe the so called experts are clutching at straws with their explanations. All of the artworks shown here were created by artists who were clearly very talented. I see no reason why they would depict the Sun, the Moon or Angels as spacecraft or flying saucers or whatever you want to call them when they could just draw the Sun and Moon as we see it and Angels in the traditional sense, people with wings.
Here's a thought...
Maybe history is looking at the Angel phenomenon backwards. Maybe they were people who flew in crafts but they've been represented throughout history as winged beings as that was the only frame of reference people in the past had to explain men and women who could fly?
Last but not least is this painting....
This painting is called Glorification of the Eucharist by Ventura Salimbeni painted in 1600.
Lets see what explanation is given for this....
This work from the 16th century by Italian artist Ventura Salimbeni features God and Jesus presiding over the universe.
But sitting between the Holy Father and the Son of God, theorists say a mysterious metal object bears an uncanny resemblance to Russian spaceship Sputnik.
The picture was painted 357 years before the launch of the orbital object – which was the first man-made body to fly into space.
YouTube channel Strange Mysteries made the incredible biblical revelation, reports the Daily Star.
Their video claimed: "This just looks a little bit too uncanny for symbolic reference.
"If the sphere is said to represent the universe, why did the painter not include any stars or other celestial objects?"
Here is the video for those who are interested.
Video length 12:07
Here's another thought...
Could the artist be trying to relay the message the Jesus and God are watching from above, not in the traditional omnipident sense but literally through a satellite link?!
There are other paintings with weird depictions of 'anomalies' in the sky that pose similar questions. This is a mystery I doubt will ever be unraveled such is the passage of time, the unknown artists and mainstream academics steadfast view that there is 'nothing to see here'. It's a shame though because I find these depictions fascinating and personally doubt that those of faith would feel any different if they were ever proven to be true depictions of events.
My personal interpretation of faith is belief in a higher being watching over us regardless of whichever religion you chose to follow, or indeed if you chose not to follow a particular religion the interpretation of faith still stands.
