Abstract
The present study discusses new research on the analysis of a portrait of a male figure discovered under the painting of Ecce Homo, attributed to the studio of Titian (ca. 1488–1576), with an estimated date in the 1550s. The portrait was examined with non-invasive methods: X-ray radiography (XRR), digital microscopy and micro-XRF. The examination of XRR images exposed the details of the painting’s underlying depiction, which according to the details preserved appears to be a completed or nearly finished portrait of a standing man. The application of digital microscopy on the Ecce Homo painting’s cracks enabled the identification of the work’s stratigraphy. Micro-XRF performed on selected spots allowed to identify lead white, vermilion, red iron oxide, umber, carbon black and copper green in the underlying portrait. The described investigation methodology was guided by the close visual analysis of the Ecce Homo work and proved to be effective in the identification of the pigments of the hidden painting and the reconstruction of its colour palette.
Highlights
The reuse and repainting of canvases was a common practice in artists’ workshops
We propose a multi-technique approach based on the integration of X-ray radiography (XRR) as the first step in the delineation of the contours of hidden compositions, digital microscopy for the examination of painting stratigraphy and microXRF for pigment identification
Pictorial composition X-ray radiography (Fig. 1b, c) revealed the presence of an underlying portrait of a standing man executed at a 180° angle in comparison to the visible Ecce Homo composition
Summary
The reuse and repainting of canvases was a common practice in artists’ workshops. Artists often recycled these materials for various reasons such as unsuccessful compositions, unpaid commissioned paintings or unsatisfied clients. The number of discoveries related to reused canvases hiding unknown preparatory drawings or even finished paintings under later applied compositions is constantly growing [1,2,3,4,5] This is mainly due to non-invasive imaging methods that are at the disposal of scientists and are capable of reading the hidden compositions. Carbon black (char or coke) Carbon black (char or coke), lead white, copper green Vermilion, lead white, umber, copper green will offer a better understanding of the process of the reuse of canvases in Renaissance workshops, which was seemingly common practice. NB was responsible for the art-historical description and analysis of the paintings, contributed to the interpretation of X-ray radiography images and wrote and edited the related parts of the article.
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