Mother Mary or Madonna as we call her, with her folded hands is looking at the infant children, John, and baby Jesus. The halo over Jesus's head is readily recognizable while he balances baby John in his hands. In the background of the structure, visible over the shoulders of Madonna, a man is staring above at the sky, along with a dog sitting by his side, following his gaze. It depicts a perfect scenario of Renaissance art that can be found in Palazzo Vecchio in Venice, being part of a collection known by the name Loeser Bequest. But wait, is that it? Of course not. How can one ignore the most far-reaching and mysterious feature in a simple painting from the first half of the 15th Century?

A dark hovering object, with rays of light bursting out from all sides, flying through the middle of the sky. The same one that the man and the dog in the background had been staring at, while Madonna and the children were busy with themselves.

Yes, this is the famous painting of Madonna with Saint Giovannino hanging in an extremely visited museum in Venice. People from all around the world visit this place, gaping at the flying object for minutes and hours, trying to understand the deeper meaning behind the strange depiction. The artist, Domenico Ghirlandaio, probably wanted people to speculate about what the puzzling element meant in his now-famous art, which seems to have worked out quite well over four centuries. A well-placed Paradise for Ufologists around the world, this piece of art attracts hundreds of art as well as mystery lovers throughout the world. Conspiracy theories, along with confusion, reign over the depiction of the strange object in the painting.

The soaring object, if indeed a UFO, seemed to be an object of surprise for contemporary people, as could be detected from the expression of the man and the dog in the background. While Madonna and the children seemed utterly unaware of the flying thing, the others were not.

The artist, whether it's Ghirlandaio himself, or as sometimes disputed between Jacopo del Sellaio and Sebastiano Mainardi, has surely been able to raise questions among the masses with this painting. But, this was not the only art or depiction during the same period to show hovering objects or angel-like people looking over from the sky.

Are those really UFOs? or something else entirely?

If those are aliens visiting earth, then why is there no indication of them in any of the historical records or books? And if not, what drove these artists to paint these seemingly confusing and question-raising items in the first place?

As modern people and lovers of art, we have to wonder at times that Ghirlandaio, or whoever the actual artist was, had to be a contemporary of geniuses like Leonardo da Vinci or Michelangelo. While these artists have established hidden clues, symbolism, and deeper meanings to their arts and sculptures, is it entirely possible that the paintings such as Madonna with Saint Giovannino also have concealed meaning?

In that case, the artist not only made us gape at the unknown object, he liked to challenge the masses and their imaginations. He wanted people to know the truth about these objects, these celestial beings that were being inserted into the Renaissance arts. It is widely known that Michelangelo depicted the human brain anatomy in his famous art — The Creation of Adam. Can something like that be what we can see in the painting in question?

Every year, thousands of art lovers visit the Palazzo Vecchio to see this painting, and the same question gets raised in their minds. Some think that this is, in fact, a star, indicated by the painter in his art. But, that notion itself is very flawed, mainly due to the fact that when the image is inspected, we can see lights coming out of the hovering thing. And not just any light, it is like the yellow light is radiating through the object, making the man looking at it shield his eyes.

It could have been the sun. But then the question arises, that if a painter could depict Madonna, Jesus, John, a dog, and a man with such detail, he wouldn't know how to picture the sun in the painting?

Paintings like these are all over Europe, most being in Florence, the hub of art during the Renaissance. Among them are — The Crucifixion of Christ, The Miracle of the Snow, Triumph of Summer Tapestry, The Baptism of Christ, Nativity of Vincenzo Foppa, and Adoration of the Christ Child.

The cross-section verifications, scans, and x-rays have been able to prove nothing of the sort for the given painting. While people still like to believe the stories of UFOs or aliens visiting the earth or celestial beings considered as Gods, paintings like these indulge in such ideas. And if we accept the fact that UFOs really used to visit the earth at that time, then we can also consider the advancement of human part of the reason for those visits.

Is that what the artist wanted us to know? And is it his way of showing the world?

Whatever it is, we can tell that this particular piece of art, along with many others, has baffled scientists, conspiracy theorists, and Ufologists for centuries. And it might continue to do so until something concrete is found. Maybe that was the result of the dedication of the artist.

We will remember Ghirlandaio as not only the creator of the Madonna with Saint Giovannino but as a master artist who could keep something hidden in his painting even after five centuries when modern technology is at its peak.

Now, it is up to scientists, historians, conspiracy theorists, and Ufologists to identify the truth behind these mysterious flying and hovering objects in these famous paintings. We can only wait for them to tell us, or maybe one of those marvels to appear in front of us.

Which one is preferable? Maybe time will tell.

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