Devil in the Details

Art restorers working on a fresco in the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi found what

they claim is a figure of a devil hidden in the clouds. The news excited art historians, but upset Catholics throughout the world as it distracted them from looking for the image of the Virgin Mary on a cheese melt or Jesus on a dog's butt.

Quick Quiz: The exclamatory term "Jesus Christ on a cracker!" originated:
a) from an actual sighting of the image of Jesus on a saltine.
b) as an inside joke among priests to reference the wafers they served during communion.
c) from a little used Nabisco marketing campaign to support their claim that everything that sits on a Ritz tastes great.

The image in question is described as the profile of a figure hidden among the clouds in a panel of the fresco painted by Giotto di Bondone depicting the death of St. Francis. The profile went unnoticed for over 7 centuries as the image was difficult to see from floor level. Close-up photography made the image somewhat visible. I have provided a detailed close-up on the section of the fresco where the profile was found. While I could not make out what art restorers identified as "the image of the devil," I was able to see what appeared to be the image of Regis Philbin.

This isn't the first time a famous artist had "a bit of fun" hiding images and things in their art work. Vincent Van Gogh was famous for hiding religious imagery in his paintings. Salvador Dali hid the face of Voltaire dead center in his "Slave Market" piece. Even the great Michaelangelo couldn't resist putting his self-portrait onto his masterpiece, "Last Judgment." But the prankish Giotto seemed to enjoy sneaking whimsical little nuggets into his art, and did so with much more frequency than art historians have documented. Here are a few of his lesser known works.

Rising of Lazarus, Arena Chapel, Pauda, in which
the Magdalene sisters give Jesus a hotfoot.

The famous Nativity 1310s, located in the north transept
of the Lower Church, San Francesco, Assisi, where

they discovered a bit of sheepish activity in the nativity.

 Giotto also had a well-known panel, Omaggio di un 
Uomo Semplice, Homage of a Simple Man, in the
Upper Church in Assisi. But what isn't widely known is
that it was a before-and-after, two-panel fresco.
This is the panel most of the world is familiar with...

The second panel was found hidden in an obscure 

recess of the church. It was playfully referred to as
Omaggio di un Burlone Pratico, or Homage of a
Practical Joker.

So I take a moment to celebrate the masters, those talented artists who dedicated their lives to their craft, but weren't so wholly committed that they wouldn't slip into a church in the middle of the night to paint a goatee on an angel...or blend the face of the devil into a cloud. Like the old saying goes, I don't know art, but I know what I like. And what I like is a good bit of irreverent fun to remind me that life ain't all that serious.