For century citizenry have wondered who was the manikin for Leonardo da Vinci ’s " Mona Lisa " and what was the reason for her smile . And why do her eyes seem to follow you around ? Some scientists recollect thatthanks to spacial frequency , the grinning changes depending on where you look . And as for the model , some think she was the married woman of a wealthy patron or that Leonardoeven painted himselfin the portrayal . But the Mona Lisa is just one of the many mysteries in the nontextual matter Earth . Here are seven other notable unsolved art mysteries that might be a small less familiar .
1. Did Caravaggio ‘Confess’ to a Crime in a Painting?
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was a master of the Italian Baroque who was known for his strikingly modernistic use of light . He was also a hot - tempered creative person who often get into brawls . In 1606 , he pour down a man during a fiddling bicker , then flee Rome for Malta . It was there , in 1608 , that he created the chef-d’oeuvre " The Beheading of John the Baptist . " The paint isthe only onehe signed . Even more intriguing , he sign his name in the kitty of blood line spilling from St. John the Baptist ’s neck .
Caravaggio had take flight to Malta and joined the Order of St. John , which served the pope , as the court painter . And he needed the pope ’s permission to return to Rome . Perhaps his blinking signature indicated he ’d be saved through the Order of St. John . Or perhaps it was his accession of guilt for the Rome slaying . The signature tune reads " f. michelang . " Some think the " F " was shorthand for " frater " or " brother , " since Caravaggio was affiliated with the orderliness . Others think the"F " stood forfecit , a Romance word meaning " did , " so perhaps the signature is really state " Michelangelo did it " — an ambiguous input , for sure .
2. Who Is the ‘Girl With a Pearl Earring’?
Around 1665 , Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer painted a seductive portrayal of a young girl glance over her shoulder , lips slightly parted . A very large pearl string up from her ear , while her eye seem to follow you everywhere . People around the orb have long pondered who this fetching vernal madam was .
Many say she must have been Vermeer ’s daughter or mistress . Others put forward she was n’t a real person , but rather an intentionally mysterious , timeless figure . Vermeer was a person of intrigue himself . He did n’t produce many works of prowess , for one , and very few biographical documents exist . We do know he was married and had 15 children .
The house painting , dubbed the " Mona Lisa of the North , " has been part ofThe Hague ’s lasting collectionsince 1903 . But it draws record - break crowds whenever and wherever it tours around the world .
3. Where Is Raphael’s ‘Portrait of a Young Man’?
Seized by the Nazis , " portraiture of a Young Man " is considered one of the most important pieces of art to go missing during World War II . The picture was create around 1513 byRaphael , a notable Italian Renaissance artist , and swiped from Poland ’s Princes Czartoryski Museum in 1939 .
Hans Frank , principal of the Nazi General Government in Poland , was the first person to pick up the house painting , which was intended to be pay heed in Hitler ’s contrive Führer Museum in Linz . The portraiture then traveled to Germany and Austria before ending up back with Frank . When the Allies arrested him in 1945 , it was gone .
hearsay occasionally arise that the painting dwell with a private aggregator in another nation , but nothing has ever been confirmed . Today , thePolish governmentowns the Czartoryski art aggregation . If the painting is get hold , it will be hung in the Princes Czartoryski Museum , where itsoriginal framenow hangs , empty . The picture is think to be a self - portrait of Raphael .
4. Who or What Is Banksy?
Of all the mysteries in the artwork worldly concern , the secret individuality of Banksy may be the most vexing , as Banksy is still alive and create . Banksy — who some say may be a collection of artist — was first mark in the early 1990s , create easily recognizablestreet art and graffito . The pieces often bear social or political themes , but some were poignant or humorous . Despite puzzle out on extremely visible projects over the years , such as the 2010 infotainment " way out Through the Gift Shop " ( which get an Academy Award nomination ) , Banksy has managed to keep their personal identity hide .
Most trust Banksy is British ; in the one - off awards show " Greatest Britons 2007 , " Banksy won the Arts family , besting nominee Antony Gormley and Sam Mendes . In what may have been a wink at Banksy ’s power to continue anonymous , the artist(s ) arranged portable toilets into aStonehenge formationduring England ’s 2007 Glastonbury Festival .
5. Was Van Gogh Murdered?
One of the main things people make love aboutVincent van Goghis that he cut off his ear . That was potential because the Dutch post - impressionist Felis concolor suffered from a mental wellness condition , probably severe natural depression . And while hail as a genius today , he only sold one painting before he die in 1890 at years 37 . The prescribed campaign issuicide from a hired gun shotat close range of mountains .
That certainly seems plausible , given his poor genial wellness . However , no gunwas find near his body , and locals reported two adolescent boys bullying him presently before his demise . One hypothesis , put forth in the flicks " Loving Vincent " ( 2017 ) and " At Eternity ’s Gate " ( 2018 ) , as well as in the 2011 life history " Van Gogh : The living , " is thatRené Secrétan , one of the bullies , pull the initiation . Besides being troubled , Secrétan is said to have owned a gun that oft misfired , so another possibility is that van Gogh ’s end was a tragic accident . Secrétan denied any involvementwhen interviewed in 1957 , though he did say he had a side arm van Gogh may have taken . Thebiographers thinkvan Gogh may have welcomed demise and so did not accuse the boy while on his deathbed .
6. Did Hilter Really Do These Paintings?
As a juvenility , Adolf Hitler just wanted to be a panther . But he was reject from art school and finally grow to other pursuits , namely becoming the ill-famed dictator who engineered the Holocaust . For decades after his death , Hitler ’s painting were largely ignored . They were n’t considered very serious , for one , plus many consider purchasing his artwork base . Nevertheless , numerous fake were produce , many of which were n’t even that accurate .
Then , in the other 2000s , a recess market for his slice get up , and prices jumped . There was just one job : how to identifyHitler ’s original works . Due to the riches of inaccurate fakes , experts are often unsure what an authentic Hitler piece really wait like . One of the few recourses is to equate pieces with verified Hitler works in Bavaria ’s land archive , but there are only a few in there . Germany is now crack down on the sales event of Hitler nontextual matter to serve reduce the number of fakes in circulation .
7. Who Pulled Off the Gardner Heist?
A cool $ 10 million will be yours if you figure out who stole 13 masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston . The 1990 burglary is thebiggest artistic creation theft in chronicle , as the paintings , which include whole kit and caboodle from Vermeer and Rembrandt , were worth a combined $ 500 million in 2020 . So what happened ?
Two menposing as police officerspulled off the holdup after manacle and gagging the two immature security officers on tariff , who did n’t have any formal training . The thief then prise the masterpieces from their frames before remove the security camera video , none of which were in the galleries . oddly , the robbery survive a easy 90 bit , far longer than the average three - minute job .
Despite legion leads over the decades , the artwork has n’t turned up . The vacuous chassis now pay heed in their original spots , an eerie remembrance of the crime . In increase to the $ 10 million reward for information that directly chair to the recovery of all 13 item , there ’s a $ 100,000 reinforcement for helping recover just one .
