Riddles of famous paintings. Secrets and mysteries of famous paintings
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There are many world-famous masterpieces of fine art. But not everyone knows that some of them keep secrets that were discovered after the death of the creators of the works. Although there are secrets that were learned about during the life of the artists, which makes the paintings even more mysterious and attractive.
1. Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, 1500-1510.
2. Since the appearance of this masterpiece by the Dutch artist, disputes about the meanings hidden in it have flared up more than once. Of particular interest has always been aroused by the sinner depicted on the right wing of the triptych, with notes imprinted on his buttocks. A student at Oklahoma Christian University, Amelia Hamrick, decided to modernize the notation of the 16th century, and the 500-year-old "song from hell from hell" that appeared on the Internet became a real sensation.
3. "Mona Lisa"
Few people know that there are two versions of the well-known picture. One of them is called "Monna Vanna", and its author is a student and model of Leonardo da Vinci, a little-known artist Salai. Art critics are sure that it was this young artist who was the model for the great Leonardo when painting such paintings as John the Baptist and Bacchus. Some even suspect that it was Salai who posed for the painting "Mona Lisa", dressed in a woman's dress.
4. "Old Fisherman"
5. This seemingly unremarkable painting was painted by Hungarian artist Tivadar Kostka Chontvari in 1902. Here are just the subtext inherent in the picture was revealed only after the death of the author. If you attach a mirror to the middle of the picture, then on one side you can see God, and on the other - the Devil. So the artist tried to reflect the twofold essence of each of us.
6. "The Last Supper"
When writing his painting, Leonardo da Vinci paid special attention to the figures of Christ and Judas. One of the young singers was chosen as a model for the image of Christ, but the artist spent three whole years looking for a model for Judas. Once on the street Leonardo came across a drunkard, whom he liked so much that he decided to write Judas from him. Imagine the artist's surprise when the drunkard who came to his senses said that he had already posed for the master several years ago and it was from him that Leonardo wrote Christ.
7. "American Gothic"
Many consider Grant Wood's work to be strange and depressing, although there is absolutely no connotation in it. The artist took this painting during a trip to Iowa when he saw a small house in the Gothic style. Grant's sister and his dentist posed as characters in the background of the house.
8. "Night Watch"
This painting by Rembrandt "Speech by the rifle company of Captain Frans Banning Kok and Lieutenant Willem van Reitenbürg" was discovered by art critics only in the 19th century. This work entered the treasury of world art under the name "Night Watch", which it received thanks to the dark background against which the figures appear. In 1947, the painting was restored, and it was then that a layer of soot was discovered with which it was covered. Having cleared the original, it was revealed that the artist meant a daytime scene, judging by the position of the shadow from the left hand of the center figure at about 14 o'clock.
9. "Boat"
In 1961, Henri Matisse's painting "The Boat" hung upside down in the New York Museum of Modern Art for 47 days. The painting shows 10 purple lines and two blue sails against a white background. When it was discovered that the second sail was just a reflection of the first on the surface of the water, it became clear that the picture was not hung correctly. The top of the picture should be a large sail.
10. "Self-portrait with a pipe"
Although many believe that Van Gogh cut off his own ear, art critics are confident that the artist injured his ear in a scuffle with the artist Paul Gauguin. Considering that the self-portrait reflects a distorted reality due to the fact that it was painted using a mirror, in fact, the artist's left ear suffered.
11. "Breakfast on the grass." The two French artists Edouard Manet and Claude Monet are often confused. This is not surprising, because even the name of Manet's painting "Breakfast on the Grass" Monet borrowed and wrote his "Breakfast on the Grass".
12. Claude Monet, Breakfast on the Grass.
13. "Morning in a pine forest"
It turned out that not only Shishkin worked on this well-known picture. Since the artist, who specialized in painting landscapes, did not get bears, he turned to the animal painter Konstantin Savitsky for help.
1. How Salvador Dali got revenge on his sister
"Figure at the Window" is a painting by Dali back in 1925, when he was only 21 years old. At the time, Ana Maria was his muse. Once Dali wrote in his painting "sometimes I spit on a portrait of my own mother, and it gives me pleasure." After that, the relationship between brother and sister was completely ruined, because Ana could not forgive him for this. When in 1949 the book "Salvador Dali through the eyes of a sister" was published, in which Dali was portrayed without any praise, he flew into a rage and remembered her for a long time. The painting "A young virgin, indulging in the sin of Sodom with the help of the horns of her own chastity" appeared in 1954, so Dali annoyed his sister for her book. If you look closely, you will notice some similarities with the painting "Figure at the Window".
2. Danae is two-faced
In the 60s of the twentieth century, the secret of the famous painting by Rembrandt was revealed. When the painting was illuminated with X-rays, they found that the face was very similar to Saskia, the painter's wife, who died in 1642. In the final picture, the face looks like Rembrandt's mistress, Gertier Dirks. The artist lived with her after his wife died.
3. "Bedroom in Arles" by Van Gogh
Van Gogh was often misunderstood by artists and critics. In 1888, he had to flee to the south of France, where he acquired a workshop. He makes one of the four rooms a bedroom. In the fall, he gets the idea to draw "Van Gogh's Bedroom in Arles." He wanted to portray the comfort of the room, so that at the sight all thoughts arose only about rest. The researchers of his work noticed that the picture was made in yellow tones and explained this by the fact that Van Gogh took a remedy for epilepsy - foxglove, and it, as you know, changes the perception of color and a person sees everything in green and yellow tones.
4. Perfection without teeth
Mona Lisa is perfection, and her smile is flawless and mysterious. Most people think so, but not an art critic from America. Joseph Borkowski, a dentist by profession, having carefully studied the enlarged photographs, said that the heroine had lost many teeth in her life. He also found scars around his mouth. The expert believes that her famous smile is very typical for those people who are left without front teeth.
The audience was greatly amused by the painting of the artist Fedotov "The Major's Matchmaking". The picture contains ironic details that were understood by observers of the time. For example, the major clearly lacks the rules of etiquette inherent in nobles: he came without bouquets for his bride and her mother, as was supposed to. The parents put on an evening dress for the bride, even though it's daytime (the lamps in the room are off). In the picture, we see that the girl, most likely, put on a low-cut dress for the first time, so she is very embarrassed and in every possible way tries to run away and hide from everything that happens.
Etienne Julie, the famous art critic, believes that Delacroix copied the woman's face from the famous revolutionary in Paris - Anne-Charlotte. After the tragic death of her brother at the hands of the royal soldiers, Anna went to the barricades and heroically killed nine guardsmen. In the picture we see a revolutionary with a naked chest. Naked chest symbolizes selflessness and fearlessness and demonstrates to everyone that Freedom does not wear a corset like a commoner.
7. Non-black square
The "Black Square" is very popular, although many do not even realize that it is not black and not at all square. In a quadrilateral, none of the sides is parallel to any other, and not even parallel to any of the sides of the frame in which the picture is framed. Many people think that the square is black, but in fact the color was obtained by mixing different colors, and there was no black at all. As art critics say, this was the principled position of Kazimir Malevich, as he strove to make a mobile, dynamic form.
8. Old fisherman
The artist Tivadar Kostka Csontvari from Hungary in 1902 painted the painting "The Old Fisherman". It may seem to many that there is nothing unusual in the picture, but the artist put into his picture a subtext that was never revealed during his lifetime. Few would have thought to put a mirror to the middle of the picture. Tivadar Kostka Chontvari wanted to show that both God and the Devil can be present in any person.
9. Secret romance
Klimt depicted on his canvas the wife of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, a sugar magnate from Austria. Many were surprised and discussed the novel by the famous artist and Adele. The husband was terribly angry and decided to take revenge on his lovers in an unusual way. Bloch-Bauer ordered a portrait of his wife from Klimt and ordered to make a huge number of sketches so that the artist began to turn away from her. He planned that the work would continue for several years and thus the feelings of the lovers would fade away. Ferdinand made a tempting offer, which the artist could not refuse, and everything turned out as planned by the deceived husband. The work lasted 4 years and during this time the lovers passed feelings for each other, and Adele until the end of her days did not find out that her husband was aware of the relationship with Klimt.
10. Brought back to life thanks to the painting
Gauguin is known for his painting Where We Come From? Who are we? Where are we going?" which has one feature: you need to read the canvas from right to left, and not from left to right, as everyone is used to. The whole allegory of the spiritual and physical life of a person goes in this order: at the beginning, the soul is born (the child sleeps in the corner), and at the end comes the inevitable hour of death (the bird holds the lizard in its claws). During his lifetime, the artist often fled to Tahiti from civilization, and wrote his work. At that moment, life in Tahiti did not work out from the very beginning: global poverty caused depression in the artist. After he finished his painting, Paul Gauguin took arsenic and went to the mountains to commit suicide. But since he miscalculated the dose, the suicide idea failed. In the morning he wandered to the hut and fell asleep, and upon awakening he felt a thirst for life. Since 1898, a white streak began in his work and things went up.
The artist sees the world in his own way. Driven by divine providence, he offers the viewer a picture-illusion full of aspirations to show the obvious. Optical illusion or, scientifically speaking, optical illusion is a ubiquitous phenomenon and can be observed endlessly, perceiving the world around us and even ordinary objects.
Ephemerality is especially evident when it comes to the art and works of the great masters of the brush, their mysterious canvases, over which it is worth breaking your head ...
The mysteries of Leonardo da Vinci: mirror hoaxes of a genius
Leonardo da Vinci is a mysterious person and undoubtedly kissed by God. His creations were much ahead of their time and to this day they are forced to solve puzzles that the master encrypted in his canvases. Another attempt to understand the genius was made by members of The Mirror of the Sacred Scriptures and Paintings World Foundation. 
According to the researchers, they managed to comprehend the message of the greatest artist with the help of mirrors. Sacred images are what the genius wanted to show to the world. One of the most famous paintings of the great hoaxer clearly hints at the presence of the Old Testament Yahweh. The young John the Baptist depicted on the sketch is not looking at Mary or St. Anna. His gaze goes around the newborn Jesus. He is looking at the face of God! It was his bizarre image that caught the boy's attention.
The idea of creating paintings, the image of which appears under certain conditions, belongs to Leonardo da Vinci. This art is called anamorphic. His "Mona Lisa" hides an amazing face. It can be seen in the area of the right hand of the Mona Lisa, the "Last Supper" hides the inverted Grail, and John the Baptist keeps the image of a fantastic creature, hinting at the process of creation. One of the first anamorphic drawings was the image of a child's head, which can only be viewed from a certain angle.
Anamorphic paintings by Istvan Oros
Tricks and riddles have become popular since the Middle Ages. The dawn of transformation came in the 19th century. Istvan Oros shines today. 
"Mysterious Island" - the most famous anamorph of Istvan Oros
The enchanting mystery pictures of the Hungarian graphics are based on the laws of physics, therefore, in order to strengthen their perception, you will have to learn at least a school course. The creator's fantasy literally knows no boundaries.
The magician hides the most incredible things and phenomena in his paintings, forcing the viewer not only to admire what he saw, but also to think. To obtain anamorphic image, Oros uses cylindrical, pyramidal or cone-shaped mirrors. It is enough to put them in the right place and the correct image appears in an obvious light.
Three-dimensional illusions by Alessandro Diddi
None of the expensive paintings of the past can be compared with the "live" images of the Italian entertainer. 
Looking at them, I want to understand how he manages, using only paper and pencil, to work miracles that deceive the human brain.
Diddy is endowed with talents to breathe the spark of God into every drawing. His characters are so real that they even frighten with their presence. He explains his secret simply, offering to try to understand anamorphic art. Further - a matter of technology.
Graphics by Maurits Cornelis Escher
The extraordinary Dutchman is one of the most famous artists in the world of optical illusion. 
He became famous for his special perception of the world and the ability to juggle the ordinary laws of the logic of space. Escher's phantasmagoric canvases are called graphic illustrations of the theory of relativity. This kind of illusory images is aimed at achieving a stereo effect. Samples of such pictures are created using special cameras (invention of Ivan Alexandrovsky, 1854).
The graphics are based on double rendering of the scene (shooting from two cameras). You can see these bizarre sketches only if you know special techniques.
Even those masterpieces of painting that seem well familiar to us have their secrets. By and large, almost every significant work of art has a riddle, a "double bottom" or a secret story that you want to reveal.
Revenge of Salvador Dali
The painting "Figure at the Window" was painted in 1925, when Dali was 21 years old. Then Gala had not yet entered the artist's life, and his sister Ana Maria was his muse. The relationship between brother and sister soured when he wrote in one of the paintings "sometimes I spit on a portrait of my own mother, and it gives me pleasure." Ana Maria could not forgive such shocking. In her 1949 book, Salvador Dali through the Eyes of a Sister, she writes about her brother without any praise. The book infuriated El Salvador. For another ten years after that, he angrily remembered her at every opportunity. And so, in 1954, the painting "A young virgin, indulging in the sin of Sodom with the help of the horns of her own chastity" appears.
The woman's pose, her curls, the landscape outside the window and the color scheme of the picture clearly echo the "Figure at the Window". There is a version that Dali took revenge on his sister for her book in this way.
Two-faced Danae
Many secrets of one of the most famous paintings by Rembrandt were revealed only in the 60s of the twentieth century, when the canvas was illuminated with X-rays. For example, the shooting showed that in an early version the face of the princess, who had a love affair with Zeus, looked like the face of Saskia, the wife of the painter, who died in 1642. In the final version of the picture, it began to resemble the face of Gertier Dierks, Rembrandt's mistress, with whom the artist lived after the death of his wife.
Van Gogh's yellow bedroom
In May 1888, Van Gogh acquired a small workshop in Arles, in the south of France, where he fled from Parisian artists and critics who did not understand him. In one of the four rooms, Vincent is setting up a bedroom. In October, everything is ready, and he decides to paint "Van Gogh's Bedroom in Arles". For the artist, the color and coziness of the room were very important: everything had to suggest the idea of rest. At the same time, the picture is sustained in alarming yellow tones. Researchers of Van Gogh's work explain this by the fact that the artist took foxglove, a remedy for epilepsy, which causes serious changes in the patient's perception of color: the entire surrounding reality is painted in green-yellow tones.
Toothless perfection
The generally accepted opinion is that Mona Lisa is perfection and her smile is beautiful in its mystery. However, the American art critic (and part-time dentist) Joseph Borkowski believes that, judging by the expression on her face, the heroine has lost a lot of teeth. Examining enlarged photographs of the masterpiece, Borkowski also found scars around her mouth. “She is so 'smiling' precisely because of what happened to her, - the expert believes. - The expression on her face is typical for people who have lost their front teeth."
Major on face control
The audience, who first saw the painting "The Major's Matchmaking", laughed heartily: Fedotov filled it with ironic details, understandable to viewers of that time. For example, the major is clearly not familiar with the rules of noble etiquette: he appeared without the required bouquets for the bride and her mother. And the bride herself was discharged by her merchant parents into an evening ball gown, although it was day outside (all the lamps in the room were extinguished). The girl clearly tried on a low-cut dress for the first time, she is embarrassed and tries to escape to her room.
Why is Freedom naked
According to art critic Etienne Julie, Delacroix painted the face of a woman from the famous Parisian revolutionary - washerwoman Anne-Charlotte, who came to the barricades after the death of her brother at the hands of royal soldiers and killed nine guardsmen. The artist depicted her with bare breasts. According to his plan, this is a symbol of fearlessness and selflessness, as well as the triumph of democracy: a naked chest shows that Freedom, like a commoner, does not wear a corset.
Non-square square
In fact, the "Black Square" is not at all black and not at all square: none of the sides of the quadrangle is parallel to any of its other sides, and not one of the sides of the square frame that frames the painting. And the dark color is the result of mixing different colors, among which there was no black. It is believed that this was not the author's negligence, but a principled position, the desire to create a dynamic, mobile form.
Melodrama of the Austrian Mona Lisa
One of Klimt's most significant paintings depicts the wife of the Austrian sugar magnate Ferdinad Bloch-Bauer. All Vienna was discussing the tumultuous romance between Adele and the famous artist. The wounded husband wanted to take revenge on his lovers, but chose a very unusual way: he decided to order Klimt a portrait of Adele and force him to make hundreds of sketches until the artist starts to turn away from her. Bloch-Bauer wanted the work to last several years, and the model could see how Klimt's feelings fade away. He made a generous offer to the artist, which he could not refuse, and everything turned out according to the scenario of a deceived husband: the work was completed in 4 years, the lovers have long cooled to each other. Adele Bloch-Bauer never found out that her husband was aware of her relationship with Klimt.
The painting that brought Gauguin back to life
The most famous painting by Gauguin has one peculiarity: it is "read" not from left to right, but from right to left, like Kabbalistic texts in which the artist was interested. It is in this order that the allegory of a person's spiritual and physical life unfolds: from the birth of the soul (a sleeping child in the lower right corner) to the inevitability of the hour of death (a bird with a lizard in its claws in the lower left corner). The painting was painted by Gauguin in Tahiti, where the artist fled civilization several times. But this time life on the island did not work out: total poverty led him to depression. Having finished the canvas, which was to become his spiritual testament, Gauguin took a box of arsenic and went to the mountains to die. However, he miscalculated the dose and the suicide failed. The next morning, rocking, he wandered to his hut and fell asleep, and when he woke up, he felt a forgotten thirst for life. And in 1898 his affairs went uphill, and a brighter period began in his work.
Old fisherman
In 1902, the Hungarian artist Tivadar Kostka Chontvari paints the painting "The Old Fisherman". It would seem that there is nothing unusual in the picture, but Tivadar laid in it a subtext that was never revealed during the artist's life. Few people have the idea to put a mirror to the middle of the picture.
In every person there can be both God (duplicated the right shoulder of the Old Man) and the Devil (duplicated the left shoulder of the old man).
Mystical riddles of paintings
Any picture painted by a person carries the information that the artist, the one who painted it, put into it. But he didn't just draw, although this is also a very important moment, but with what thoughts he drew it. What is the point, information he put into it.
At the time of Pushkin, the portrait of Maria Lopukhina was one of the main "horror stories". The girl lived a short and unhappy life, and after painting the portrait she died of consumption. Her father Ivan Lopukhin was a famous mystic and master of the Masonic lodge. Therefore, rumors spread that he had managed to lure the spirit of his deceased daughter into this portrait. And that if young girls look at the picture, they will soon die. According to the salon gossips, the portrait of Mary killed at least ten noblewomen for marriage ...
The end of the rumors was put by the patron of art Tretyakov, who in 1880 bought a portrait for his gallery. There was no great mortality among the visitors thereof. Conversations and died down. But the sediment remained!
Hands Resist Him
This picture was painted by Bill Stoneham. The scandal began after one of the exhibitions. Mentally unbalanced people looking at this picture became ill, they lost consciousness, began to cry, etc. It all began in 1972, when the picture was drawn by Bill Stoneham from an old photograph, where he was photographed at the age of five and found in the Chicago house where he lived at the time (first photograph).
The painting was first shown to the owner and art critic of the Los Angeles Times, who later died. Maybe it was a coincidence, maybe not. The painting was then acquired by actor John Marley (died 1984). Then the fun begins. The picture was found in a landfill among a pile of rubbish. The family that found her brought home and on the first night a little four-year-old daughter ran into the parents' bedroom, shouting that the children in the picture were fighting. The next night, that the children in the picture were outside the door. The next night, the head of the family set the video camera to turn on by motion in the room where the picture was hanging. The camcorder worked several times.
The painting was put up for auction eBay. Soon, eBay administrators began to receive alarming letters with complaints about the deterioration of health, loss of consciousness and even heart attacks. There was a warning on eBay (as well as in this post), but people are known to be curious and many ignored the warning.
The painting was sold for 1025 USD, the starting price was 199 USD. The page with the painting has been visited over 30,000 times, but mostly just for fun. It was bought by Kim Smith, who lived in a small town near Chicago. He was just looking for something for his newly renovated art gallery on the Internet. When he came across Hands Resist Him, he thought at first that it was painted in the forties and would be perfect for him as an exhibit.
"Lilies"
The impressionist Claude Monet painted a landscape with water lilies. When the artist and his friends were celebrating the end of work on the painting, a small fire broke out in the studio. The flame was quickly drenched in wine and did not attach any importance to it. But in vain ...
For only a month, the picture hung in a cabaret in Montmartre. And then one night the place burned down. But the "Lilies" were saved.
The painting was bought by the Parisian philanthropist Oscar Schmitz. A year later, his house burned down. The fire began in the office, where the ill-fated canvas was hanging. It miraculously survived.
Another victim of Monet's landscape was the New York Museum of Modern Art. The "Water Lilies" were transported here in 1958. Four months later, it did not flare up like a child. And the damned picture was badly charred. Now NASA specialists are ready to restore it using space technology.
"Scream" Artist Edvard Munch
A masterpiece by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch was stolen in broad daylight from a museum in Oslo. A very tidbit: the picture is worth 70 million dollars! But something suggests that the villains are unlikely to have a chance to waste this money. After all, "Scream" takes revenge on those who offend him.
The museum tells how one worker accidentally dropped a painting. From that day on he had a terrible headache. The pains got worse, and the guy committed suicide. And the visitor to the museum simply touched the "Scream" with his finger. And what do you think? In the evening, a fire started in his house, and the man was burned to death
"Adoration of the Magi"
The Dutch artist Pieter Bruegel Sr. wrote The Adoration of the Magi for two years. He "copied" the Virgin Mary from his cousin. She was a barren woman, for which she received constant punches from her husband. It was she, as simple medieval Dutchmen used to gossip, “infected” the picture. Private collectors bought the Magi four times. And each time the same story was repeated: no children were born in a family for 10 - 12 years ...
Finally, in 1637, the painting was bought by the architect Jacob van Kampen. By that time he already had three children, so the curse did not really scare him.
The artist and author of the painting "Crying Boy", the father of the child depicted on it, mocked his son, lighting matches in the face of the baby. The fact is that the boy was afraid of fire to death. And the man in this way tried to achieve the brightness, vitality and naturalness of the canvas. The boy was crying - the artist was drawing. One day the kid shouted at his father: "Burn yourself!" A month later, the child died of pneumonia. A couple of weeks later, the charred body of the artist was found in his own house next to a painting of a crying boy that had survived the fire.
Probably the most famous bad picture of the Internet space with the following story: A certain schoolgirl (Japanese is often mentioned) drew this picture before opening her veins (throwing herself out of the window, eating pills, hanging herself, drowning herself in the bathroom). If you look at her for 5 minutes in a row, the girl will change (her eyes will turn red, her hair will turn black, fangs will appear).
In fact, it is clear that the picture was clearly not drawn by hand, as many like to say. Although how this picture appeared, no one gives clear answers.
Svetlana Taurus
Now she modestly hangs without a frame in one of the shops in Vinnitsa. Rain Woman is the most expensive of all works: it costs $ 500. According to the sellers, the painting has already been bought three times and then returned. Clients explain that they dream about her. And someone even says that he knows this lady, but from where - he does not remember. And everyone who at least once looked into her white eyes will forever remember the feeling of a rainy day, silence, anxiety and fear.
Where did the unusual painting come from? “In 1996 I graduated from the Odessa Art University. Grekova, - Svetlana recalls. - And six months before the birth of "Woman" I always thought that someone was constantly watching me. I drove such thoughts away from myself, and then one day, by the way, it was not rainy at all, I sat in front of a blank canvas and thought what to draw. And suddenly I clearly saw the contours of a woman, her face, colors, shades. In an instant, I noticed all the details of the image. I wrote the main thing quickly - I managed it in about five hours. It seemed that someone was driving my hand. And then I finished painting for another month ”.
Arriving in Vinnitsa, Svetlana exhibited the painting in a local art salon. Art connoisseurs came up to her every now and then and shared the same thoughts that arose in her during her work.
“It was interesting to observe,” says the artist, “how subtly a thing can materialize a thought and inspire it to other people.”
A few years ago, the first customer appeared. A lonely businesswoman walked the halls for a long time, looking closely. Having bought the "Woman", I hung it in my bedroom.
Two weeks later, the night bell rang in Svetlana's apartment: “Please, take her away. I can not sleep. It seems that there is someone in the apartment besides me. I even took it off the wall, hid it behind the closet, but I can't do everything early. "
Then a second buyer appeared. Then a young man bought the painting. And he also could not stand it for a long time. He brought it to the artist himself. And he didn't even take the money back.
"Venus with a mirror" Velazquez
Velazquez's painting "Venus with a Mirror" also enjoyed a well-deserved notoriety. Everyone who bought it either went bankrupt or died a violent death. Even museums did not really want to include her main composition, and the picture was constantly changing its "registration". The matter ended with the fact that one day a crazy visitor pounced on the canvas and cut it with a knife.
Van Gogh and Alice's rabbit hole
Eschatology for the illiterate
The era of the early and classical Middle Ages in Europe (VI-XIV centuries) is the time of the dominance of monastic cartography. The monastic map, the so-called mappa mundi ("map of the world" in Latin), is a mixture of time and space, myths and realities of the then-known Ecumene. About 1,100 monastery maps have survived to this day, about 600 of them were made before the XIV century.