Some works of art are so recognisable they’re as familiar to us as our own faces in the mirror.
The likes of Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Edvard Munch's The Scream and Vincent Van Gogh's The Starry Night, are all so firmly ingrained in popular culture that it’s easy to forget these works of art can still have some secrets to spill.
From the debate over whether there is actually an earring in The Girl With a Pearl Earring’s ear, to the view from an asylum window that’s worth millions, here are some fascinating insights into 10 of the world’s most famous artworks …
'The Scream', Edvard Munch
Norwegian artist Munch created his famous piece in 1893, a work which has come to symbolise the anxiety, trauma and isolation of the human condition. What is less known is that the figure in the foreground of the painting isn’t the one doing the screaming. Rather, they are reacting to the scream.
“One evening I was walking along a path, the city was on one side and the fjord below. I felt tired and ill,” Munch wrote in his journal. “I stopped and looked out over the fjord — the sun was setting, and the clouds turning blood red. I sensed a scream passing through nature; it seemed to me that I heard the scream. I painted this picture, painted the clouds as actual blood. The colour shrieked. This became The Scream.”
Additionally, the red sky depicted in The Scream was caused by the aftermath of the Krakatoa volcano eruption in 1883.
'Girl With a Pearl Earring', Johannes Vermeer
Vermeer’s 1665 artwork, which has come to symbolise the Dutch Golden Age, has inspired a book and a film starring Scarlett Johansson about its origins.
However, the art world has long debated whether the girl in the painting is actually wearing an earring, or whether it is simply reflected light, as close inspection shows the “earring” is not attached to her ear.
Vermeer did not call his work Girl With a Pearl Earring, rather that became its official title in 1995, when the Royal Mauritshuis Gallery chose it for the Vermeer exhibition in Washington.
Owing to the girl’s non-European headdress, some art historians believe the work was one of two titled Two Tronies in Turkish Style (two portraits-fantasies), from an inventory of the artist’s work done in 1676.
'American Gothic', Grant Wood
As with Munch’s The Scream, Grant’s work has suffered from misinterpretation over the years, likely owing to the dour looks on his subjects’ faces.
Despite the expressions of the pair, who are actually a father and daughter, not man and wife, Grant had intended the piece, created in 1930, to be a positive representation of rural American values in the face of the Great Depression.
Wood used his sister and his dentist as models for the portrait.
'The Starry Night', Vincent Van Gogh
Painted in 1889, the scene in The Starry Night is the view from the Saint-Paul de Mausole asylum in which the Dutch painter had voluntarily admitted himself to following his breakdown in December 1888, when he mutilated his left ear.
The view is from the east-facing window of his room in the French town of Saint-Remy-de-Provence, although the village is from the artist’s imagination.
The brightest star in the centre is Venus (The Morning Star) which was visible at the time.
'Mona Lisa', Leonardo Da Vinci
Because her smile is so legendary, the background to Da Vinci’s masterpiece is often overlooked, but has inspired as many arguments and debates as her enigmatic lips.
Clearly asymmetrical, the left side of the background is significantly lower than the right, and the landscape itself has been debated by art historians for centuries, as to whether it was real or from the artist’s imagination.
In 1995, University of Florence palaeontologist Carlo Starnazzi published an article stating that the lake on the left is Lake Chiana, and that the winding road is actually a canal linking the lake to the Arno River. On the right, he says, is the Burgiano Bridge that spans the Arno river in Tuscany.
'Sleeping Lady with Black Vase', Robert Bereny
The art world has the 1999 film Stuart Little to thank for the reappearance of a work of art which had been missing since 1928.
While watching the film with his daughter, art historian Gergely Barki, recognised the painting hanging over the Littles' mantelpiece, and realised it was the lost work of avant-garde artist Robert Bereny.
The work had been sold in 1928 and was considered lost after the Second World War. After two years, Barki tracked down the film's set designer, who had bought the painting at an antique shop in California.
It was eventually sold at auction in 2014 to a private collector for $285,700.
'Arnolfini Portrait', Jan van Eyck
It’s a graffiti tag recognised the world over. One seen on walls in every city featuring the graffiti artist’s name, followed by “was here” and the date.
But while a spray-painted scrawl on a city wall might not hold much cachet in the artworld (unless it's by Banksy), the appearance of such a tag in a work of art has only enhanced its value.
Van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait, painted in 1434, of the Italian merchant Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife, features a very notable tag on the wall behind the couple. The Latin script reads: “Johannes de eyck fuit hic 1434" which translates to “Jan van Eyck was here in 1434.”
'The Last Supper', Leonardo Da Vinci
It’s one of the most famous paintings in the world. And while visitors to the Louvre often express amazement at how small the Mona Lisa is, visitors to Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan are usually taken aback at the scale of Da Vinci’s The Last Supper.
Measuring 4.6 metres by 8.8 metres, the work, which was painted between 1495 and 1498, depicts the moment Jesus told his Disciples that one of them would betray him the following day.
Of the many symbolic references in the painting, by Judas’s arm is a container of spilt salt, which was considered a bad omen.
'David', Michelangelo
Standing 5.2 metres tall, Michelangelo’s David is one of the most famous sculptures in the world.
Now housed at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, when it was first unveiled on September 8, 1504, it was situated outside the Palazzo Vecchio, which was the seat of civic government in Florence.
Although admired for its representation of youth and beauty, Michelangelo also imbued David with a political statement.
The statue’s gaze is actually a cautionary glare from the city-state of Florence, directed at Rome, also then a city-state and not yet the Italian capital, as a warning against challenging the city.
'The Weeping Woman', Pablo Picasso
Back in 1986, one of Picasso’s Weeping Woman (there are four version which the artist painted in 1937), was stolen and went missing for three weeks before it was returned — but to this day, no one knows who took it.
The piece was stolen from the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia in August 1986.
The thieves, who called themselves Australian Cultural Terrorists (ACT), quickly issued a list of demands to guarantee its safe return.
These included a 10 per cent increase in arts funding and the creation of a A$25,000 annual art prize which was to be named The Picasso Ransom. The group said the painting would be destroyed in seven days if their demands were not met.
The government refused to negotiate and three weeks after the painting disappeared, police received information that it was in locker 227 of the Spencer Street railway station.
The Weeping Woman was recovered but the members of ACT have never been identified or found.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
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3. Hajj
4. Shahada
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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The specs: 2018 Bentley Bentayga V8
Price, base: Dh853,226
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
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- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
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Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The specs
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- Power: 640hp
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
Favourite Book: The Alchemist
Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
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