Quote:
Originally Posted by csb
Thanks Ozstar, that link gives a higher resolution of the painting. Wow, you can see it is not a smudge - it's something (iconography?) deliberately painted in by the artist. Interesting!
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The explanation is well presented here (including samples of several other paintings of the same biblical event showing other artists' depictions):
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/...g2#pid14919875
Note the person in the background staring up at the "UFO." This man is a shepherd. How do we know this? Because we know what event this painting is depicting, and we know the rules of these depictions according to the RIGID ARTISTIC DISCIPLINE the artist was following.
In the art of this particular tradition, with its concrete rules, we often see this same event portrayed in the background of depictions of the Nativity such as this one.
It symbolizes "The Announcement to the Shepards"
and there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, an angel of the Lord come upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear ye not: for behold!, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you was born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord
Now, according to this rigid discipline, how was the Announcement to the Shepards supposed to be depicted? In the same ways that angels and divinity were symbolized in some of the paintings i cited earlier: as either a luminous cloud, or a luminous cloud containing angels.