Have you ever wondered why there are gherkins in the 15th century paintings by Carlo Crivelli, next to the Virgin Mary? Or why there is a massive, big, fat fly on the woman's headdress in the double portrait by the Master of Frankfurt? Or why Mary Magdalene sometimes looks like she has a lot of body hair?
Were these artists and their patrons just having a laugh or was this a serious matter? This talk will answer some questions I am sure you've had when visiting museums (I know I have) but were too polite to ask!
Get ready to be surprised, moved and delighted as you finally find out what some of the strangest symbolic additions in traditional Western European paintings actually mean.