6 famous paintings that hide deep meanings in them

Art, one of the most creative, beautiful, and unique forms of expression, has been around for centuries. From the early cave paintings of fire and fox, to the newer depictions of modern art on canvases and through 3D figures, there has been something unique and different about it all. And this artwork that becomes a form of expression for the artist, often hides deeper meanings, contexts, and aspects to it. And while the original ones are often hidden from the public and remained a secret the artist took to the grave, the viewers, with time, came up with their own meanings and contexts.Here we mention 6 famous paintings that hide deep meanings in them.

Vincent van Gogh's ‘The Starry Night’ is one of the most famous paintings today and also the most iconic. It is famous not just for its swirls, patterns, and imagery, but also for the deep meaning and message behind it. Many people, art enthusiasts, and experts alike interpret ‘The Starry Night’ as a reflection of van Gogh’s inner turmoil and his turbulent, unorganised relationship with the world. The swirling, chaotic sky is set in opposition to the calm, peaceful town below with not a man in sight, and the bold intense colours are interpreted as van Gogh’s emotions that overflowed in a dark, blunt manner.

Pablo Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ is an emotional, gory, yet powerful representation of the horrors that ensue with war. This painting was created as a response to the bombing of the town of Guernica during the Civil war in Spain, and the painting can be described as ‘pure chaos’. Although not exactly hidden, but the figures, the animals, the screams, and the unsettling nature of the painting aim to show the pain, anguish, and suffering of people during the war, and the thing they endured when their town was bombed. The elements that pop the most in Guernica are the distorted forms of humans and animals.(Image: chefanthonynichols/Instagram)

A masterpiece of a fresco by a master painter, ‘The Creation of Adam’ by Michelangelo holds many different meanings, interpretations, and symbols that different people like to bring forward in their own unique ways. Showing the Biblical scene where God gives life to Adam, this fresco shows the moment when God’s finger nearly touches Adam’s, which is thought to be a symbol of the transfer of life forms as God sends humans on Earth. Some people also say that the fact that God and Adam’s fingers barely touched each other could also be a hint towards the thought that man can never be God for there will always be a space, a difference between the two.

Salvador Dali’s ‘The Persistence of Memory’ is another iconic painting with many different meanings and interpretations. It was a painting in the ‘Surrealism’ genre and showed something extraordinary to people, something they couldn’t quite comprehend. And so came in numerous meanings, hidden signs, and more. The melting clocks in the painting are often seen as symbols of how time flies and melts away. Instead of being rigid like the wall clocks, Dali’s painting showed time for what is truly is. Then there was the landscape, with rough edges, soft touches, a huge shell-like object in the middle, and it all looked like an absurd dream to many.

A painting that is said to hide many secrets and deep meanings is the ‘Mona Lisa’. The portrait of a mysterious woman with a sly, beautiful smile has spoken to people in many languages and given them all a different side of the story.And one of the deep, hidden aspect of Mona Lisa is her smile. People say that her smile changes from every angle and also from the viewers perspective. Some call it a serene, calm painting with Mona Lisa being her simple, usual self, and others term her smile as a smirk as if she is telling the audience ‘I know you are fascinated by me.’

Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’ although looks like a regular painting with a bald figure, hands on the face as they scream on something, it is actually interpreted and understood as a depiction of existential crisis, frustration, and anxiety. The painting features a figure standing on a bridge, clutching its face in terror, mouth open wide as if it is screaming at the top of its lungs, and the sky behind is intense, red-orange, which shows a sort of frustration and anger. It is said and believed that the true meaning behind ‘The Scream’ is Munch’s own experience of fear and anxiety. Munch once wrote in his diary that the painting felt like a ‘scream through nature’.(Image: scandicenter/Instagram)