[imagesource:worldhistory]

Historical artworks that (possibly) depict close encounters with the third kind have been a thorn in historians’ side as much as fodder for alien theorists for decades.

The recent surge in extraterrestrial interest is merely the latest development in the checkered history of ufology, which has roots going back to the late 19th century. But if some E.T. supporters are to be believed, this interest in the existence of aliens dates back further in time.

Are Nazca lines, ancient sculptures, cave paintings, and — to the ire of the art world — paintings from some of history’s most acclaimed artists proof of weird alien stuff happening in the past?

Anyone who looks very (very) closely at some of the old masters’ paintings may be able to see clearly that they show contact with the third sort – or something that looks like either an alien or a UFO. If you really squint and look closely, you might see strange entities, aerial thingies, or other inexplicable items that feel completely out of place in a masterpiece.

Some of these depictions may simply be religious symbols, but there remain a few that are just too out of place and downright weird to ignore. Here are some of the historical artworks that contain so-called ‘proof’ of unidentified objects:

Domenico Ghirlandaio
The Madonna with Saint Giovannino (c. 15th century)

This 15th-century painting, installed at the Palazzo Vecchio, has such a reputation among alien fans that it is often referred to as “Madonna dell’UFO.”

While depicting the Madonna with the infant Jesus and Saint John, Ghirlandaio decided to include a weird blob in the sky to the right of Mary’s shoulder, with the figures of a man and a dog observing it. There’s even a theory that Mary is shielding the children from the ‘gaze of the aliens’.

Carlo Crivelli
The Annunciation with Saint Emidius (1486)

The crazily detailed painting by Crivelli presents his artistic version of the archangel Gabriel telling Mary that she would soon be heavy with child.

Except that, the message appears to be coming to Mary from an alien spaceship zapping a laser down to the virgin. Those who support the alien hypothesis claim that it provides evidence that Mary was, in fact, abducted and artificially inseminated by aliens. They also claim that the type of light is consistent with those recorded in contemporary alien abductions.

Aert de Gelder
Baptism of Christ (c. 1710)

De Gelder was one of Rembrandt’s last students, and according to Artnet, the painter’s ‘intense emotionalism is evident in his paintings of biblical situations’. Others just point and say “Are you kidding? That’s a flying saucer if there ever was one”.

His painting from around 1710 shows the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist at the Jordan River, with beams of light coming from a massive disc in the sky. It is purportedly a picture of “the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Jesus,” as stated in Matthew 3:16. Uh-huh, sure.

Michael Pacher
Saint Augustine and the Devil (c. 1475)

Okay, this one might not be so ‘clearly alien’ as some of the others. Pacher’s oil painting depicts the devil showing Augustine his entry in the book of vices – which amounts to the saint not praying hard enough, of course.

Some of the more looney ufologists claim that this actually depicts ‘contact with an alien’, but even X-Files fans might find this hard to swallow. We do however like the face the devil has on his arse.

Were these artists trying to capture incidents of real alien phenomena or was it just artistic expression running wild? We are of course always trying to decipher old messages with modern eyes, so maybe it’s best we just appreciate the pretty paintings for their colours and creativity.

Not everything that hangs motionless in the sky with laserbeams shooting down at pregnant virgins is a spaceship. Perhaps those sights were totes normal back then.

[source:artnet]