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.
Art historians say this is a symbolic way to depict God speaking to his son from heaven and at that time it was common to paint a round cloud of angels sending light to symbolize the blessings from heaven as in “The Annunciation” by Carlo Crivelli, in which a flying machine emits light to Mary’s head.
Another controversial image is the object in the background of the painting “The Madonna and Saint John” probably painted by Sebastiano Mainardi. A man appears looking at the sky where a glowing object floats. These are probably representations of saints and angels as many other paintings of the Renaissance clearly show people pointing at pretty angels in the sky surrounded by glowing light, as said in the Skeptic Magazine in July of 2004.
Extraterrestrials in the Archives of Vatican
However, there are other versions for the reasons behind the flying objects that appear in the paintings that report to the secret archives of Vatican.
The Vatican Secret Archives is estimated to have 52 miles of shelving and approximately 35.000 books only in the selective catalogue. Until the 17th century, the secret documents were in the Vatican library where some scholars had limited access to. Aert De Gelder, the painter of "The Baptism of Christ," as well as other painters of the Renaissance had access to the library and, according to some authors, he would have gotten the inspiration to relate flying saucers to Jesus from there.
In the Renaissance, texts in Latin and Greek that had been forgotten for centuries were translated, Plato was rediscovered and a whole new understanding about man and his origins came to light.
In many ancient cultures and sacred books, the gods and demi-gods are depicted as beings with supernatural skills and technological knowledge, such as the Hindu gods. The Vedic literature describes air chariots that are moved by pulses and engines, fly to other planets and stars and disappear when necessary. Sumerian, Egyptian and Mayan cultures also refer to flying machines.The Bible itself makes many references to flying chariots and supernatural events that could be easily related to events depicted in other sacred books if one happened to have access to such information.
Artists Escaping from Inquisition
Art historians agree that depictions of extraterrestrials in the paintings wouldn't have been allowed by the Church during the Renaissance, and, even if one concluded that there were enough evidences of aliens visiting Earth in many different periods, it did not mean that it could be told publicly.
However, great thinkers have always disguised their messages. The history of humanity is filled with knowledge that survived through rough times and passed on to the next generation safely. It's possible that the paintings were telling a story that ancient traditions have been telling all along, but the Church insisted on hiding. As the great majority of the population was very uneducated at that time, the paintings would seem harmless to the eyes of those who still thought that the Earth was the center of the universe.
Read more:
Vimanas - The Flying Machines of Ancient India
Alchemy in the Middle Ages: Plato and the Philosopher's Stone.
Sources:
Burckhardt, Jacob. The Civilization of Renaissance in Italy. Middlemore, republished in 1990.
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