Researchers in Cyprus found a hidden portrait that lay undetected for centuries beneath a 1570 oil painting by Renaissance master Titian, according to The Independent. The discovery was made while the painting was being prepared for conservation. Researchers placed it under a microscope and noticed different pigments through the craquelure, the pattern of fine cracks that form on the surface of old paintings.
A rendering of the newly discovered work is currently on display in Limassol, Cyprus, as part of an exhibit that runs until March 10. The exhibit features Titian's original painting alongside the rendering of the hidden portrait.
According to The Independent, the newly discovered work shows an unidentified man with a thin moustache, quill in hand, standing next to a stack of papers or books. The image is a prosaic contrast to the scene of Jesus Christ crowned with thorns that Titian later painted over it.
"The painting holds a secret, and the secret is that there is, unknown until now, a painting underneath," said Professor Nikolas Bakirtzis, who leads a team at the Cyprus Institute (CyI). "It was like uncovering a puzzle," Bakirtzis added, according to Reuters.
According to The Independent, the finished artwork, called *Ecce Homo*—meaning "Behold, The Man" in English—shows Jesus standing next to Pontius Pilate, who presided over the last stages of Jesus' trial before he was crucified.
Researchers at the Andreas Pittas Art Characterization Laboratories (APAC) successfully revealed the hidden portrait using advanced imaging and non-invasive analytical techniques, according to The Independent. Based on the X-ray visuals, experts then created an oil painting of the man.
Bakirtzis believes Titian used elements of the earlier painting for the new one, including using the man's jawline to outline the ropes tying Christ's wrists. "This shows the hand of a confident artist—the leader, the head of the studio, Titian himself—and this is why the *Ecce Homo* version is the one which preserves Titian's artistry," he said.
Researchers know that Titian reused canvases on partially finished work. According to The Independent, in this instance, it was a full portrait that Titian turned upside down and painted over with *Ecce Homo*.
Titian, born Tiziano Vecellio in 1488, together with his studio in Venice, produced hundreds of paintings until his death in 1576.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq