10 Hidden Details You Never Noticed In Famous Paintings

Painted to commemorate the visit to London of Bishop Georges De Selve (on the right) and apparently to celebrate how cool and smart both men are, the assorted objects between them represent their interests and achievements.

In the bottom centre of the painting you notice a greyish blur and if you're lucky enough to see the painting in person and from the correct angle you will notice the blur is actually a massive skull. The skull is an anamorphic image (one that is only clear from certain angles) and seems tacked on to the painting as if Holbein really wanted to paint his illusion and decided to chuck it in despite the subject matter not really fitting the visual trick.

It wasn't unusual for the time to hide a little skull in your painting: the addition is referred to as a 'memento mori' a reminder of death, and this one may have been signed off by Dinteville, whose personal motto was 'remember thou shalt die'. Fun dude.

With the right reflections and magnifications you can make out text from the globe and books too, but these details are often overlooked because of the giant human skull in the middle.