An image of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi showing their inked fingers after casting their vote in New Delhi in the sixth phase of the ongoing national elections is being widely shared on social media platforms claiming the painting in the background depicts Jesus Christ. The picture inside the frame shows a person holding a white colored banner with three red dots and a circle.
Claim:
One such post (archived here) shared on X (formerly Twitter) by an account named ‘Mr Sinha,’ who is known to spread false and misleading narratives, said, “Janeudhari Brahmin (a holy thread worn by Hindu Brahmin and Kshatriya communities) Rahul Gandhi has Jesus’s picture in his room. No picture of Hindu gods in the same room.” The post has garnered 1,200,000 views at the time of writing this story. Several other users have also shared the image with similar claims, and the archived versions of such posts can be viewed here and here.
However, Logically Facts found that the photo frame shows a painting called Madonna Oriflamma, which was made by a Russian artist named Nicholas Roerich symbolizing human unity in culture.
Investigation:
A reverse image search of the painting visible behind Gandhi’s viral image led us to the painting posted on Getty Images and captioned, “Madonna Oriflamma, 1932. Found in the collection of the Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York.”
We looked into the artist’s website and found a detailed explanation of the painting. The website explained that the three red dots and a circle on a white background were designed by Roerich are called the “Banner of Peace,” symbolizing unity in culture. It also notes that the Banner of Peace was initially proposed to preserve creative activities, the universities, libraries, hospitals, concert halls, and theaters from the destruction caused by World War I.
It further noted that Roerich described the circle as the totality of culture, and three dots as art, science, and religion. The website also added that the painting has been on loan to the Nicholas Roerich Museum since 1960.
The Nicholas Roerich Museum’s Facebook page (archived here) has also shared the painting’s photograph with the caption, “Ever wonder what the symbol of the three dots means? It appears in this painting, “Madonna Oriflamma” (1932), and as the symbol for the Roerich Pact and Banner of Peace.”
Conclusion: The painting in Gandhi’s viral picture is actually a painting called Madonna Oriflamma, which is incorrectly perceived as a photo of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we have marked the claim as false.
(This fact check was originally published by Logically Facts and has been republished by Lighthouse Journalism as a part of Shakti Collective)
