Abstract.

Art as secret History in “The Da Vinci Code”.

The topic of the research is “Art as secret History”, which is connected to the
paintings in Dan Brown’s novel “The Da Vinci Code”. The research question runs as follows:
“What secret History can Art hide in Dan Brown’s book “The Da Vinci Code”?” It is
important to study this issue from different points of view, using various research methods in
order to understand, what secrets could Leonardo Da Vinci hide in his masterpieces, which
have a great impact on the book itself. The study is important due to the connection between
the past and present. The research is undertaken to investigate the truth of the history that
hides in the paintings and the hidden meanings in Leonardo Da Vinci’s paintings, also to
explore their details. Therefore, to explore the objectives of the research, the following
methods were used: Critical analysis, content analysis, and comparison of different sources of
information. To obtain the data for the research, it was necessary to explore different sources
of information using critical analysis in combination with content analysis, comparing the
statements and facts given by different scientists. Also, it is important to expose the visual
content of the study. Including, the details of the paintings and colors used by the author. It
has been concluded that most of the facts that are given in the book "The Da Vinci Code" are
not true, since, when investigating different studies, the facts given in the novel, were refuted.
It may be concluded that scientists mostly rely on facts taken from the paintings themselves,
whether Dan Brown had his own theories and aimed to make the novel thrilling and
interesting for readers. However, there is no denying that the research could be continued and
studied based on other theories and scientific exploring.

Keywords: Art as secret History, The Da Vinci Code, Leonardo Da Vinci, paintings,
The last supper, The Mona Lisa, Vitruvian men, critical analysis, content analysis.