Depictions of UFOs and Aliens In Renaissance Art

The Madonna with Saint Giovannino
The Madonna with Saint Giovannino

Western Civilization’s Middle Ages and Renaissance periods created one of the most mysterious and controversial works of art in recorded history. As artists refined their skills and passed them to their apprentices, these works of art have grown more impressive over the years. Old paintings serve as inspiration to many artists and museum visitors, who appreciate the artistic skills of these periods of Western Civilization.

However, could these old paintings depict something beyond Earth, something that perceives as UFOs by modern people, such as flying saucers?

The common paintings in that era are religious in nature, which they seem to depict UFOs, men in the aircraft, and laser beams. The apparent UFOs are usually painted overhead observing religious events, such as the crucifixion of Jesus or his birth.

One of the most popular examples is the painting by Domenico Ghirlandaio “The Madonna With Saint Giovannino.” The 15th-century painting is currently exhibited at Palazzo Vecchio Museum in Florence, Italy. The painting shows baby Jesus and Saint Mary, but it apparently also depicts a man with his dog staring at a UFO in the sky in the background of the painting. Interestingly, the UFO looks like the depiction of modern flying saucer emanating golden radiant energy.

The Annunciation
The Annunciation

Another painting that depicts saucer-like UFO in the same era is “The Annunciation,” by Carlo Crivelli in 1486. It’s on display at the National Gallery of London at the moment. The circular object in this painting emanates a narrow beam of radiant energy on Saint Mary.

Supporters of ancient alien hypothesis believe that this painting shows evidence of the existence of ancient aliens. However, UFO skeptics and artistic scholars would say that this is an artistic representation of angels encircled God.

Believers of ancient aliens think that people of that time considered the appearance of the aircraft as religious events as evident on the inclusion of this aircraft on religious depiction in the paintings. Meanwhile, others say that the depicted objects have nothing to do with flying saucers and they are mainly spiritual in nature.

Adoration of the Christ Child
Adoration of the Christ Child

UFO and alien skeptics referred the 15th-century painting “Adoration of the Christ Child,” by Vincenzo Foppa, which is very similar to “The Madonna With Saint Giovannino.” This particular painting also includes a man figure staring at the sky in the background. However, it this case, instead of a flying saucer, the man is looking at a winged angel emanating light.

The 14th-century painting “Crucifixion,” in the Visoki Decani Monastery in Kosovo, shows human figures inside an unknown object. However, skeptics say that the object in the paintings during this time is the personification of the moon and sun, which were usually shown as observers during the birth of Jesus. They say that that the objects in Crucifixion painting are the moon and the sun and the human figures inside are personification of these things.

Crucifixion
Crucifixion

Mysterious celestial objects in paintings of the end Middle Ages were depicted by a woodcut by artist Han Glaser. The painting shows an event in Nuremberg, Germany on April 14, 1561 that highlighted several moving celestial objects fall to the ground from the sky. This event was witnessed by many people. A 1680 jeton coin from France also depicts a wheel-like object that resembles a flying saucer.

Nuremberg, Germany
Nuremberg, Germany

The examples and arguments of both sides will likely to continue for many years and it seems that the next generation will have a difficult time figuring the films of current generation.

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4 Comments

  1. The Nuremberg woodcut is fascinating and corresponds with eye witness reports and writings in the local news paper at the times. Some mysterious event definitely happened there. The art depicting space craft and light are not simply “representations” of ideology but carry more weight than that due to their detail and the corresponding events going on in the pictures. It seems whenever humans are going through a “renaissance” period, where dramatic changes are happening in the way we think and perceive the world and ourselves and our relationship with the cosmos, there are always reports of “UFO’s”,+ “bright lights” coinciding with these times. I think the artists where capturing actual physical events of the times and adding them to their pieces because they were events witnessed by many people at the time.

  2. If the sun and moon usually appeared on paintings of the birth of Jesus, why are they shown on the ‘crucifiction’
    Everyone has their own interpretation and only time will tell who is correct.

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