Unknown Masters Archive
Unknown Masters Since The Da Vinci Code, there has been a massive surge in interest in hidden dimensions to paintings, though this trend is, in itself, not new. Though Leonardo da Vinci is definitely the most debated, he is definitely not the sole or first to have hidden clues in his paintings. Fire, the John Gesture In 1997, Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince introduced …
Unknown Masters Van Eyck: The Painting Heretic? Jan Van Eyck is considered as one of the founders of modern painting techniques. But Van Eyck is also known as an alchemist and may have left us with a powerful, magical talisman: The Adoration of the Lamb. by Philip Coppens When Clive Prince contacted me in May 1995 to contribute certain material for the then not …
Unknown Masters Gustave Moreau: re-imagining history The 19th century painter Gustave Moreau created a truly unique style for depicting his historical and mythological themes. Living secretively, one has to ask the question whether he was part of a secret lineage of true masters. by Philip Coppens Jupiter and Semele Gustave Moreau was both secretive and a master. When French author Huysmans reported on his …
Unknown Masters Fire, the John Gesture In 1997, Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince introduced the so-called “John gesture”: a specific pose painted by Leonardo da Vinci. They were at pains to clearly identify the symbolism of the gesture, but with a little help of Hermetic magic… by Philip Coppens In the 1990s, authors Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince wrote two books in which Leonardo …
Unknown Masters John Duncan: Painting the Fairy Realm The Scottish painter John Duncan brought the Celtic legends onto the canvas, in efforts to reacquaint the Scottish people with their origins. It was apparently a mission that he had received directly from the fairy realm itself. by Philip Coppens John Duncan was born in Dundee, Scotland, on July 17, 1866. As a child, he found …
Unknown Masters Salvador Dali: painting the fourth dimension The Surrealist painter Dali is largely seen as an eccentric, money-hungry artist. But such three dimensional descriptions do not capture the visionary who tried to paint the fourth dimension on his two-dimensional canvas. by Philip Coppens Artists are apparently supposed to be poor – you are supposed to suffer for your art. This is why we …
Unknown Masters Jean Cocteau: The life of a poet Jean Cocteau, alleged Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, was a true master of poetry, painting and cinema, creating a surreal world… which he considered to be totally real. by Philip Coppens Jean Cocteau was a poet wrapped inside a painter wrapped inside a filmmaker and actor. And he was even a boxing manager. …
Unknown Masters Hieronymus Bosch: paint, us, sinners Within the world of art, Bosch occupies an unfortunate niche, as few have been able, or even willing, to tackle his paintings. The insurmountable obstacle is defining where Bosch got his inspiration from. The answer might have been staring us in the face. by Philip Coppens Such is the originality of Bosch’s paintings that experts have no …
Unknown Masters The Shepherds of Arcadia Nicolas Poussin’s Shepherds of Arcadia is a painting at the centre of the controversy of the Priory of Sion. New evidence is able to offer a final analysis of this famous painting, which offers intriguing prospects on the worship of the dead… and the elixir of life. by Philip Coppens The Shepherds of Arcadia is a painting from …
