The timeless works of Western Europe’s painters, sculptors and architects bring beauty and wonder everywhere you look. But these celebrated masters were shockingly quirky, cooky or even downright disgusting! Don’t believe us? Here are 6 things you probably didn’t know about the Mediterranean’s most renowned artists — and their works:
Ever wonder why the Mona Lisa has no clearly-visible eyebrows or eyelashes? According to French engineer Pascal Cotte, ultra-high resolution scans of the painting reveal evidence that the famous lady’s facial hair has been cleaned off her face by an overzealous curator.
A rumoured perfectionist, scans also show Da Vinci originally painted Mona Lisa with a wider face and a more expressive smile than what we see in his final work (he also went back and changed the positioning of two fingers on her left hand).
So much art, so little time — to bathe. Michelangelo, the renowned painter of the Sistine Chapel (who painted himself into the scenes of many of his works) and sculptor of the 5.17m-tall statue David, reportedly refused to clean himself or change his clothes.
According to one of his servants, he spent so much time in his work boots that when he finally relented to removing them, “the skin came away like a snake’s”.
A lick of paint can do a lot to spruce up a weary interior but when it comes to historic sculptures the job is best left to professionals! This is the lesson a town in Spain learnt when it became famous overnight from a botched fresco restoration that went viral online.
An 81-year-old volunteer took pity on a peeling scene called Behold the Man at the Misericordia Sanctuary in Borja, a once quiet historical town of 5,000 about 300km north-east of Madrid. With amateur brushstrokes she transformed the piece to what the internet now calls “Behold the Monkey”.
At first threatened with potential legal action, the residents of the town are now thanking the woman: it sees as many as 57,000 tourists come to see the abomination in real life. And the widow, one Mrs Cecilia Gimenez, has even landed her own copyright deal.
Spanish artist Salvador Dalí kept famously mum when it came time to explain his own work. However, when pressed, he reportedly said the concept for his iconic melting clocks originated from chunks of Camembert cheese he witnessed melting in the hot sun. Was he joking? We’ll never know!
The best place to see some of his surrealist works is the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid — and while you’re there take in other iconic works, most notably, Picasso’s stunning Guernica.
Did you know that despite being one of the most famous painters in history, only 15 paintings formally attributed to Leonardo da Vinci are known to exist? It’s not that he was a believer in quality over quantity — but rather that he frequently experimented with new techniques / inventions and scientific innovations... and chronically procrastinated on commissions.
Da Vinci’s The Last Supper (which can be seen in the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy) originally included Jesus’ feet. Unfortunately for the Messiah, builders cut off his toes when installing a doorway in the refectory in 1652. Ouch.
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