Despite its immense popularity, not many folks understand where praying hands tattoo from. There are different stories and accounts that attempt to explain the sources of this renowned art but most of them are rather wrong, and they’re simply merely narratives. The most trustworthy account of the source of this tattoo comes from the narrative of an 18-year old German artist named Albrecht Daurer.
According to this story, Albrecht painted the praying hands as a present for the mayor of Frankfort in the 15th century. The mayor received the gift with a lot of excitement as he considered it as a magnificent piece of art. After the commissioning, it became really popular but a fire in 1729 ruined the first one.
Meaning of the tattoo
Just like any other kind of tattoo these tattoos have different meanings to different folks. The significance of this tat depends on the person who puts it, why they set it, the layout of the tat and also the place of the tattoo on their body. However, there are some people that get the tattoo simply because it appears good, or they believe it would be amazing to have such a famous tat.
Sometimes, the tattoo is done to remember some important family member or a dear friend. This meaning is likely based on a story about Albrecht. According to some historical reports, Albrecht drew this tattoo to honor his brother who had to forfeit his artistic aspiration for him. Since his family of 18 kids was penniless, they could just afford to sponsor one artist and so a coin had to be flipped between Albrecht and his brother.
Nowadays folks do the same to honor a particular individual in their family or friend who has passed away.
This tattoo may also be used to represent the adversities and melancholy that folks have had to face in life and how they have overcome them successfully. In other cases, parents may also get the tattoos and also have one place on their children. This is aimed to symbolize the everlasting bond between a parent and his or her off springs.
