Hidden: Unseen Paintings Beneath Tudor Portraits

National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place, London
Hidden: Unseen Paintings Beneath Tudor Portraits image
Ad
Event has ended
This event ended on Sunday 2nd of June 2013
Admission
free
Venue Information
National Portrait Gallery
St Martin's Place, WC2H 0HE
Nearest Tube/Rail Stations
Charing Cross 0.13 miles

Recent technical analysis undertaken as part of the Making Art in Tudor Britain project has revealed that some of the Gallery’s sixteenth-century portraits were painted over pre-existing paintings. This could have occurred for a variety of reasons and provides fascinating insight into artistic production during the period.

This display highlights two rare examples in which paintings with religious iconography have been discovered beneath portraits. Images generated by analytical techniques such as x-radiography and infrared reflectography are used to reveal the hidden paintings, and the portraits are also paired with loans from other collections to give an impression of the underlying compositions. The display also includes an interesting portrait with a fragment from a decorative scheme on the reverse, which suggests that it was originally intended to be viewed from both sides.

Tags: Art

Recommended

User Reviews

There are no user reviews