Posted on 11/06/2011 5:02:34 PM PST by bruinbirdman
The smirking face of the Devil has been discovered hidden in a fresco by the Italian medieval artist Giotto after remaining undetected for more than 700 years in the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi.
The Satanic image went unnoticed until now because it is artfully hidden in the folds of a cloud and is invisible from ground level.
The discovery of the face, in a fresco which depicts the death of St Francis, was made by Chiara Frugoni, a medievalist and an expert on the saint.
"It's a powerful portrait, with a hooked nose, sunken eyes and two dark horns," Ms Frugoni said in an article in a forthcoming issue of the St Francis art history periodical.
"The significance of the image still needs to be delved into. In the Middle Ages it was believed that demons lived in the sky and that they could impede the ascension of human souls to Heaven.
"Until now it was thought that the first painter to use clouds in this way was Andrea Mantegna, with a painting of St Sebastian from 1460, in which high up in the sky there's a cloud from which a knight on horseback emerges. Now we know that Giotto was the first (to use this technique)."
Sergio Fusetti, the head of the restoration work in the basilica, said the devil face may have been a dig at somebody the artist had quarrelled with.
Claudio Strinati, an art historian, said it was not unusual for Renaissance artists to include hidden meanings in their works. "Paintings often had two facets an explicit one and an implicit one."
Millions of pilgrims and tourists have trooped through the basilica in Assisi, in Umbria, since the fresco was painted in the 13th century without
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
I still don’t think I see it. Maybe I’m immune.
Thanks, I see it now. I’ll tell my daughter when she wakes up. She couldn’t see it either.
The dark curvy thing above the forehead must be supposed to be the horn.
I see it on the left, but cant see where it would fit in in the big picture.
Maybe I’m not relaxing my eyeballs just right, or something.
I think it is anonymous from “V for vendetta”.
Self portrait is most likely prob.
What makes them think it's Satan? Often artista hid pics of themselves in their works. I see the profile, but cannot make out horns.
vaudine
Bob Ross sometimes snuck the devil into his paintings:
I am a slayer fanatic! slayer has been my favorite band fort he last 25 years and wherever they go within 100 miles of me, I go to see them.
I saw them last at the Big 4 at Yankee Stadium and it was the time of my life.
SSSLLLAAAYYYEEERRR!!!!
No happy little trees in this picture!
I see two faces in the pic on the right. There is a small head just under the cloud profile’s nose, facing the profile. Maybe I see it because I am nearsighted. It may have to go bigger for others to see.
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Funny the things you can see in clouds.
“I see two faces in the pic on the right. There is a small head just under the cloud profiles nose, facing the profile. Maybe I see it because I am nearsighted. It may have to go bigger for others to see.”
Yup, there are two faces, a face within a face. Sort of where the cheek of the bigger face is, laying in the same direction, looking up right. Looks like he has a goatee, a pointed nose, and closed eyes. Fascinating.
Robin Williams!
There are definitely two faces there, the bigger one on the edge of the cloud, and the smaller one, the head starting where the cheek of the bigger face is. Check it out folks, it’s a twofer.
Its just one of those happy little accidents that happen in a lot of oil paintings...
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