The Real da Vinci Code: Animals

Ron Piccirillo points to an ape (top left), a lion (top right) and a buffalo (below right) as examples of animals hidden in da Vinci paintings.

A graphic designer says he has uncovered a Mona Lisa mystery. He says that hidden in the painting are various animals, placed there by Leonardo because of his concern for animal protection.

After studying images of the Mona Lisa, I discovered several hidden subjects in the painting. Excited and curious about what I saw, I began to pore over Leonardo’s paintings, his writings and the work of other Renaissance artists to look for other hidden subjects.

Piccirillo says Leonardo’s writings refer specifically to animals that can be found in the Mona Lisa and other works of art.

“[One] passage names specific animals that can be found in the Mona Lisa. It is beyond coincidence to have identified these hidden images after finding references to them in Leonardo’s own writings.”

Is it all a bit fanciful? Coincidental?

Some might argue that if you look at a cloud long enough, for example, you can see all kinds of objects. But in the Mona Lisa and other instances, there are too many coincidences to be ignored.

Check it out for yourself? Do you see the monkey and the lion he’s talking about in this video interview?

If you want to dig into this a little further, check out Piccirillo’s detailed guide to the Mona Lisa, as well as to other paintings, including Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.

What if I told you the Mona Lisa is an optical illusion – one painting hidden within another? Well it’s true. Since making this discovery months ago, I have been waiting to let the world know of my findings – a secret that has been hiding for five hundred years.

Why would Leonardo hide animals in his paintings. We don’t know. But some of his remarkable drawings of animals are currently in an exhibit at London’s National Gallery.

What do you say? Did Leonardo hide animals in the Mona Lisa. Give us your opinion in a comment or on Facebook.