A UFO in the Sky (7) Why Giovannino? Well, thats John the Baptist, right? Good companion for Jesus. End of discussion. Well, partly true, but he was also Domenico Ghirlandaio, as we saw. And he was yet someone else too. If we search for paintings in Google under the search term giovannino we come across an artist Giovannino de Grassi, born around 1350, died July 6th 1398. I knew someone born in 1353, and who suffered an attempt on his life in 1398, and wisely disappeared (actually to Russia, but that is another story), presumed dead. His name was Arnaldo, and he claimed to be the fifth Dauphin of France - the rightful heir to the throne, usurped from the family, they said, in 1332. Could it be him? He was the architect of the Cathedral of Milan, and worked for Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the boss of that principality. Sure enough, his signature appears on his work. An image then appeared of his rendering of Psalm 118, and I at the top of the page was something to rivet the attention. It was a dark oblong radiating rays of gold, and looked very much like the object in the sky in Ghirlandaios painting. When I looked closer, there were words written in it. Openly. Not even the most recalcitrant art historian would deny it. Now, whatever Arnaldo palmed this off as saying, one can also plainly read that it says Odio Visconty - I hate Visconti. Visconti was a tyrant, and it wasnt hard to do, but the point was that it looked like Ghirlandaios UFO, and it bore the word Odio. I looked back at the Ghirlandaio, and there - I dont know how I missed it before - written in large dotted letters was Odio, Italian for Hate. What else could better characterize Arturos spirit? the link between Ghirlandaio and Giovanninos work. Which is not surprising, because Arnaldo 5... Giovannino de Grassi, was Arturos grandfather, and Domenico Ghirlandaios great grandpa. All I can say now is that it is no longer a UFO floating up there in the sky. It has been identified. Even for those art historians denying any possibility of hidden text in the old masters, it is now merely an FO!
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 17:10:32 +0000