UFOs in Art?
From the Medieval era to the Renaissance to now, people have grappled with the potential of not being alone in the universe. Aliens, UFOs, and other mysterious figures have appeared in paintings throughout history, or have they?
As I was doing this research, I realized that there are WAY more instances of aliens/UFOs in art than I ever thought possible, so I’ve chosen the six that came up the most/were the most interesting to me as I read descriptions and looked at the work.
1. The Miracle of the Snow by Masolino da Panicale
The story that this painting depicts is the founding of the Roman Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore. Legends say that Mary herself chose the site of this church and caused snow to fall on the exact spot on the Esquiline Hill in 352. Panicale depicts this scene with the snow on the ground and Jesus and Mary looking over the crowd.
However, what strikes some people as odd are the clouds. Of course, you need clouds to have snow, and in this painting, there are a number of clouds stretching across the entire sky, but many see their size, shape, and number as looking more like a fleet of flying saucers. They also note that even in the winter months snow is fairly uncommon in Rome. Could the miracle of the snow in 352 actually been an invasion of UFOs?
2. Livre des Bonnes Meurs by Jacques Legrand
So this piece comes from an illuminated manuscript called Livre des Bonnes Meurs from around 1430 which teaches good manners and was meant for everyone from commoners to members of the church. What UFO-believers have been fascinated by for years, I’m sure you can guess, is the huge gold sphere hovering in the sky next to the goddess of luck, Fortuna. In the past people have thought it was a depiction of the sun, a hot air balloon, or maybe a representation of the wheel of fortune but others think it’s a clear image of a UFO.
3. The Madonna with Saint Giovannino by Domenico Ghirlandaio
This painting, which can be found at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, is commonly referred to as “Madonna dell’UFO” or “Our Lady of the Flying Saucer”. It depicts the Virgin Mary with an infant Jesus and baby St. John the Baptist. The interest comes in the form of the small dark object in the background of the painting over Mary’s left shoulder. Some say it looks very much like a domed spacecraft and the shephard and his dog appear to be looking intently at it. Also, people speculate that Mary is placing her body strategically between the craft and the babies to shield them from whatever may be coming out.
4. The Annunciation with Saint Emidius by Carlo Crivelli
We can see in this piece a rendition of the annunciation where Mary was told she would be soon delivering the baby Jesus. However, because of the straight beam of light and the circular area where it comes out of the clouds looking a bit like a UFO from a movie, some people argue that this is evidence that Mary was actually abducted by aliens and artificially inseminated onboard the ship before being sent back to earth.
5. Celestial Phenomenon over Nuremberg by Hans Glaser
This is the first one where I’m even entertaining the theory that it’s depicting aliens or UFOs. Glaser created this piece to represent a “dreadful apparition” that occurred above the city of Nuremburg on April 14, 1561. He says it was a battle between objects shaped like globes and crosses and he shows them in this woodcut swirling around the sun. Glaser himself thought it was a sign from God but now some UFOlogists say it’s evidence of UFOs or UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomena). Skeptics say it was more likely due to an atmospheric optical occurrence called parhelia, but I’ll let you decide for yourself.
6. Baptism of Christ by Aert de Gelder
De Gelder was one of Rembrandt’s last pupils and all of his paintings, especially those of religious scenes, have a trademark emotionalism to them. This work, from 1710, shows the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in the River of Jordan while a beam of light from the sky casts them in a spotlight. You know where this is going, apparently this was a sign that aliens were present at Jesus’ baptism and were beaming something down to him. Or you could go with the biblical version “the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on [Jesus]” from Matthew 3:16.
I’m sure there are tons more examples of aliens or UFOs or other unexplainable phenomena in old artworks so maybe sometime I’ll do a part 2 on this topic.
Works Cited
“Is There A UFO in That Renaissance Painting? See 7 Historical Artworks That (Possibly) Depict Close Encounters With The Third Kind”. ArtNet. 2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/aliens-ufos-in-art-historical-paintings-2350998
“The Mystery of the Madonna and the UFO”. Walks Inside Florence. https://www.walksinsideflorence.it/the-mystery-of-the-madonna-and-the-ufo/