Hidden Symbols in Paintings

Found this really interesting article about hidden meanings and symbols in old, Renaissance paintings:

"When you visit an art gallery, and pause for a respectful minute in front of each painting, what do you really see? A Virgin and Child prefiguring the redemption of mankind, or a woman with no eyebrows holding an alarmingly mature baby? Is Bronzino's Allegory with Venus and Cupid (c 1540) a depiction of the pain and joy of love or a woman lounging about in front of a sheet? So often, the captions provided by galleries go no further than telling us who painted a work, when and with what. We learn nothing of the meaning. Medieval art was not designed for 21st-century eyes. The original viewers may have understood the significance of a lapdog, an ape or a pack of cards. But today, most of us need help to crack the codes. The meanings were never set in stone across Europe. But there are enough constants to help you “read” the secret signs within. Here are five works which hang in the National Gallery - and a breakdown of their probable meanings."

Allegory with Venus and Cupid (c 1540), by Bronzino
Honeycomb: A sinister figure holds a honeycomb, which alludes to a time when Cupid was stung by a bee while stealing honey. Venus dismissed her son's tears, saying his arrows wounded people far more.
A dove: Cupid tramples on a dove - for Christians a symbol of the Holy Spirit, but in antiquity another reference to Venus.
A golden apple: Paris gave Venus a golden apple as the fairest of all the goddesses. In return she gave him Helen, igniting the Trojan War.
An hourglass: Father Time's hourglass is a memento mori, reminding us that the sands of time always run out.
Rose petals: In antiquity the rose was an attribute of Venus. Here a putto is about to scatter rose petals over the goddess. Venus once gave a rose to Cupid but, worried about his mother's sexual indiscretions, Cupid gave it to Harpocrates, god of silence, to prevent gossip. The host of a Roman banquet hung a rose from the ceiling as a sign to guests that secrets were to stay in the room, as they were “under the rose” or “sub-rosa”. That is the origin of our modern ceiling roses.
A pair of masks: At Venus's feet lie two masks, a symbol of deceit and hypocrisy.

More are featured in the article. It reminded me of

and how Da Vinci's work is supposed to have all this hidden imagery behind it:-

 

  'The Last Supper' is a mural painting by Leonardo da Vinci. It represents the scene of The Last Supper from the final days of Jesus as depicted in the Bible. The painting is based on John 13:21, in which Jesus announced that one of his 12 disciples would betray him. The painting is one of the most well known and valued in the world, however, unlike many other valuable paintings, it has never been privately owned because it cannot be moved.
Interesting features:
The person sitting next to Jesus on his right (our left as we view the painting) is Mary Magdalene. Jesus and Mary are dressed diametrically opposite, in a Yin Yang pattern.
Peter, sitting next to Mary, is slicing across her throat with his hand.
Further along the table, a disembodied hand is about to thrust a knife into the stomach of one of the disciples.
On the other side of Jesus, a disciple is thrusting his finger into the face of Jesus, in what has become recognised in the paintings of Leonardo as 'the John sign' representing John the Baptist.
Further along the table, Leonardo can be seen as one of the disciples with his back to Jesus.
Rather like Alfred Hitchcock who placed himself in his own pictures, Leonardo placed himself in his own paintings.
On the table is a noticeable absence of broken bread. Also missing is a chalice before Jesus.
On one of the columns is painted a chalice!