Sculptures and statues are much more than a piece of art. They provide a captivating insight into the time they were made. And often, they hold little mysteries and details that explain the intention of the creator or signify some events, times, and people. There’s much more than feasting the eye when it comes to these famous pieces of art and imaginative works. In this article, we will tell you the secret messages of famous sculptures and how a flawed interpretation, artistic competition, and more left their impression on these famous feats of architecture.
Secret Messages of Famous Sculptures
From Christ the Redeemer to David and beyond, here are the secret messages of famous sculptures that’ll make you see these works of art otherwise.
Christ the Redeemer
This huge statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro, one of the New Wonders of the World, is packed with entertaining messages and information. In fact, it actually includes many hidden messages. The art itself is concrete, but the outside is made of millions of soapstone tiles. Some of the workers who assisted attach them penned short notes, signed their names, or even made wishes on the back, according to the BBC. Just as great, the statue really has a trapdoor in it! The statue has an entrance hole for preservation artists, where stairs go all the way up through the middle of the figure. On Christ’s right shoulder, there is a trapdoor where artisans can mount to maintain it and examine lightning damage.
David
One of the most popular pieces of art in the world, the sculpture of David dwells in Florence’s Galleria dell’Accademia. He lies ready to take on Goliath, and the accord is that he was sculpted to be a “perfect male specimen.” And still, expert witnesses have noticed that the image has what appears to be a defect: Its eyes look in two somewhat different directions. While the left one stares straight at the observer, the right one appears to stare at a way beyond the observer. It’s been discussed whether or not it’s a mistake, but lots of intellectuals believe it’s because you can’t see both eyes at a time as you walk around the sculpture. So Michelangelo made certain that David’s gaze was as impressive as possible from either side.
Pieta
This one is more like the reverse of a hidden message. It’s the only piece of his artwork that Michelangelo actually signed! He reportedly learned that the depiction of Mary cradling the body of Jesus was being connected to a competitive artist. Helpless to stand for that, he wrote his name, to the strip across Mary’s body. The writing says “Michala(n)gelus Bonarotus Florentin(us) Facieba(t),” or “Michelangelo Buonarotti, the Florentine, made this.”
The Kiss
This sculpture by Auguste Rodin is actually a misnomer! The Kiss was taken from a tale from Dante’s Inferno in which a gentlewoman falls in love with her husband’s brother; the two lovebirds are killed by the deceived husband. In 1882, Rodin decided to portray the lovers in their moment of love. Although it’s basically hidden, the lovers’ lips aren’t actually meeting in the sculpture, implying that they never actually committed an act of adultery before being exposed.
Moses
You can’t win ’em all, Michelangelo. The 16th-century Florentine’s portrayal of Moses has a rather obvious trick: Moses has horns. This is because of a complicated Biblical interpretation: The Hebrew term that depicts Moses’ face as he descended Mount Sinai is now recognized to indicate “shine” or “rays of light,” but it’s very related to a word that translates to “horns.” So rather than emitting light, this variant of Moses has horns on his head.
