X-Ray Reveals Nativity Scene Hidden in Painting

Now researches have discovered a whole new side to the work, offering more intriguing clues to be unraveled about the painting’s origins and history.

While using x-ray technology to determine the cause of the panel’s decay, another image emerged. Renowned conservator Nicky Grimaldi immediately recognized a manger scene in the x-ray images. A radiant infant sits at center, with Magi, Mary and perhaps a structure filling out the scene. She explains: “It was common practice to apply gold leaf to these type of religious paintings and in the x-ray we can see that gold is present in the halo around the baby’s head. Incredibly we can see lines over the x-ray image which we believe to be preparatory drawings, showing where the painting was probably copied from an original drawing (cartoon).”

The work needs further restoration to stop the wood from rotting. As part of this process, researchers plan to do further tests on the painting, including a chemical analysis of the paint used, infrared imaging, and scanning using an electron microscope. These will provide further clues that will help experts better understand the work's place in history.

Though the painting needs further conservation and has more mysteries to be solved, this astonishing new element to the work has made for a lovely unexpected Christmas gift. “We’re simply delighted and astounded to discover that this 16th-century work was hiding such a wonderful secret and to find out at this time of year is really quite fortuitous,” said Dr. Jane Whittaker, The Bowes Museum’s head of collections.