Thursday, March 5, 2015

Joshua Reynolds Repainted Rembrandt Masterpiece

Rembrandt, Susanna and the Elders (1647) Photo: Web Gallery of Art via Wikimedia Commons
Berlin's Gemäldegalerie announced they've made a shocking discovery about the museum's Rembrandt masterpiece Susanna and the Elders (1647), Focus reports. An X-ray analysis of the oil painting has revealed that the it had at one time undergone extensive alterations.

According to the daily Berliner Morgenpost art restorer Claudia Laurenze-Landsberg, who conducted the analysis, noticed tiny pigments on the canvas that didn't exist in the 17th century. What's more, some parts of the painting were in a style that she didn't recognize as Rembrandt's. She found out that in the 18th century large parts of the painting were simply painted over, and entire sections were washed out using solvents and re-painted in a more modern, light shade. More at: Art Net