The Madonna with Saint John - Sebastiano Mainardi
During the Renaissance, many religious paintings showed images of round flying objects that emitted beams of light. Are they sacred symbols or evidence of alien visitors?
Between the 14th and the 17th centuries, the Inquisition was at its peak, condemning scientists, philosophers and artists to the holy fire whenever they disagreed with the Church. At that time, all the books and paintings were subjected to the Church’s examination before they could be publicly displayed, which means that any religious depictions had to follow very strict rules in order to be approved by the commissioners.
However, in many religious paintings of the Renaissance, images of flying objects that are very similar to UFOs appear, leaving room to many controversies about the origins of such images. Some argue that they are a symbolic way to depict saints and angels but others advocate that Renaissance artists had a little more to tell.
Symbolic Depiction of Bible Excerpts in Renaissance Paintings
There are many parts of the Bible that describe flying chariots and clouds surrounded by light that are “brighter than the sun.” In the baptism of Jesus, it is said that the Holy Spirit descended from the sky and a voice was heard from there. This excerpt would have inspired artist Aert De Gelder to paint “The Baptism of Christ” in 1710 which shows a disk-shaped flying object emitting beams of light.
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