Unidentified Flying Object in 15th Century Painting

Artist Domenico Ghirlandaio often linked to the Madonna with Saint Giovannino painting in the 15th Century. Although, it has also been attributed to Jacopo del Sellaio and Sebastiano Mainardi. It is one of the paintings popular to alien theorists due to the flying object that is depicted in it.

The painting features a strange looking object hovering in the distance, just behind the Madonna in the upper right. In the same side of the background, a man can be seen with his dog who appears to be looking at the UFO by using his hands to shield his eyes for a better view.

The object seems to be leaden and glowing with bright beams of light projecting in all directions. The object in the painting does not match to the modern ideas of flying saucers.

It is explained by experts, however, that unidentified objects in various paintings throughout history are symbols added by their painters and this painting is no exception. The object in the painting may be a depiction of a divine cloud, a glowing star, an angelic presence, or some other symbolism of Christianity. In fact, the odd looking object is not alone in the sky in which the Nativity Star can be seen to the left.

It seems that the Christian iconography and extraterrestrial UFO theories will continue to be a debate when it comes to the objects being featured in old paintings such as this one.