10 secrets of the world's masterpieces of painting, about which you did not know

Paintings of famous painters almost always have a history. Some of them well known, others are known only by specialists, while others only expect, when they know the world.

We have prepared a few stories about the secrets of famous paintings, which, in our opinion, interesting and not too well-known to a wide audience.

Artists, even great, are the same people as we are. They may be wrong, to doubt and even to commit foolish acts. Often, emotions or life circumstances have an impact on the work of the painter, although the audience about this and does not know.

An idyllic painting by the Dutch master Hendrick van antonissena, written in 1641, the average person does not cause any issues. It depicts a shore, on which stands several groups of people. But among specialists in medieval Dutch painting almost a hundred years had passed argument about what these people do on the beach and why do they all look in one direction.

The secret was revealed recently by the student conservator Shan Kuang, which is in the process of cleaning the time-darkened paintings, discovered in the sea near the shore... a whale. Modern equipment has allowed to restore the original view of the sea and now everyone knows that the people gathered by the sea to look at the beached whale.

The painting "Figure at a window" is one of the earliest works of the Spanish surrealist — Dali wrote it at the age of 21. The artist was not familiar with his wife and Muse with Galoi, so the story of this painting he was inspired by the image of a sister, Ana maría.

Much later, the master will devote another painting — "a Young virgin who engages in sodomy with horns of their own chastity," which can hardly be called positive.

This painting came in which was Given is clearly laid offensive notes after the book of Ana maría "Salvador Dali the eyes of the sisters." In the book the woman told unvarnished about his brother, his eccentricities and extravagance.

At the time of publication of the book the brother and sister haven't spoken in many years because of the bad antics of El Salvador. He once wrote on one of his works — "Sometimes I spit on the portrait of his mother and receive from this pleasure." This offended Ana Maria, who immediately stopped all communication with my brother.

The most famous paintings of Russian artist Shishkin also has its own unusual story. Early painters often discussed with each other their work and, sometimes, gave good advice. The painting "Morning in a pine forest" was written as forest landscape and the original bears it was not. Animals Shishkin added on the advice of his friend, the animal painter Savitsky.

Friend and colleague recommended that to revive the story of the animals and as a specialist in this matter personally put them in the finished fabric. The Tretyakov gallery, learning about the dual authorship, angry and personally erased Savitsky's name from the canvas. Fortunately, the trail left of the signature, so the story about strange bears became public knowledge.

The first in the history of European painting a companion portrait was painted by van Eyck in Bruges in 1434. The painting depicts a beautifully dressed young couple, quite possibly preparing to marry. But few people know that this painting depicts two people, but four.

To notice another couple — a man and a woman, can be looking closer to the round mirror hanging in the background. Critics believe that these people — the author of the paintings and his wife. An indirect confirmation of this is the mischievous sign, right above the mirror reads Johannes van Eyck fuit hic "Jan van Eyck was here". But the secrets of the double portrait the Arnolfini portrait does not end there...

The story of the portrait of Emperor Nicholas II, created the great portraitist Valentin Serov can be called motivating. The artist has managed to turn failure into success and the film has become one of the most famous in the gallery of his works. Serova have long worked to paint a portrait of the king, and he apologized and decided to abandon this work.

Nicholas, worn out posturing, very upset and sat with his arms folded. At this point, the artist realized that this is what he needs for a great portrait and immediately began to write. The Emperor in the picture is tired and sad, but that is the beauty of the portrait.

The most ambitious and famous work of Hieronymus Bosch, "Garden earthly delights" is fraught with a huge number of puzzles. The meaning of this picture is still unclear, but some secrets are already solved. On the right leaf of the triptych, called "Musical Hell" depicts sinners, tortured music. One of them on the buttocks depicts the medieval notes.

Student Christian University of Oklahoma Amelia Hamrick, who studied painting, translated ancient musical notation with a modern twist and recorded a song called "a Song with ass from hell, which celebrated 600 years." It turned out calm, but not too melodic song similar to the title tune of a Hollywood melodrama, played with one finger.

Rembrandt "the performance of the rifle company of captain Frans banning Coca and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburgh" is traditionally called "Night watch", as all are sure that the shown events are happening at night. Thought two centuries after the picture came from obscurity and became famous.

The picture which we usually call the "Black square" represents not the object black. Moreover, it is not a square, since neither side of the figure is not parallel to neither the opposite side nor located next to the line framing the frame.

Supposedly the black color geometric shapes is the effect of mixing several different colors, among which there was black. Critics believe that it is specifically intended by the author. During the inspection of the paintings in the Tretyakov gallery was discovered the pencil inscription "Battle of Negroes in a dark cave". This phrase is reminiscent of the painting by the French artist and journalist Alphonse Allais "Battle of Negroes in a dark cave deep in the night," which looks like a black rectangle.

This unique in its kind painting by the Dutch master is a depiction of the 112 most popular in the XVI century Dutch Proverbs. Like that the canvas, strange and even absurd things, but the specialist will immediately see sayings, similar to the modern "swim against the tide", "banging my head against the wall" and many others, which are now used around the world.

Most of the Proverbs on the painting by Brueghel the elder, one way or another connected with human stupidity, greed or sloth. The picture is very popular with artists and is dedicated to her many scientific articles and theses.

For many years it was believed that the painting Picasso depicts a bathing woman. But in 2008, the restorers placed the artist's work in infrared and was surprised to find a man in a suit and bow tie, seated resting his hand over his head.

Obviously, the "Blue room" was painted over the portrait created by the artist earlier. Art historian Patricia Favero explained by the fact that when Picasso was visited by a sudden inspiration, he immediately set to work. When the hand was not a blank canvas, genius took the already prepared, not too successful, in his view of the painting, and wrote new on top of them.