A hidden portrait by edgar degas house

For decades, art conservationists have relied on methods like the chemical analysis of miniscule flecks of paint and detailed knowledge of the exact pigments used to restore paintings faded by the years. Now, using a powerful X-ray scanner called a synchrotron, a group of researchers have uncovered an early draft of a portrait by Edgar Degas.

Since , art historians have known that Degas’ Portrait of a Woman was painted on top of an earlier image.

X-ray uncovers hidden portrait beneath famed Degas painting

The painting was completed in the s, but just a few decades later parts began to fade, revealing a ghostly image lurking underneath. Experts long believed that it was caused by an earlier draft that Degas had made on the same canvas, but traditional restoration methods made it impossible to find out more without destroying the painting.

In a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports, however, a team of conservators and scientists were able to peer beneath the paint us A Hidden Portrait by Edgar Degas BOCY