he imaging technique is termed terahertz spectroscopy and makes use of relatively weak electromagnetic radiation. In this instance it was used to look beneath the surface of Trois hommes armés de lances – a Louvre fresco from the a 19th century collection of Giampietro Campana – to reveal what looks like an authentic Roman fresco.
“We were amazed, and we were delighted,” said J. Bianca Jackson, reporting on the project to the American Chemical Society. “We could not believe our eyes as the image materialized on the screen. Underneath the top painting of the folds of a man’s tunic, we saw an eye, a nose and then a mouth appear. We were seeing what likely was part of an ancient Roman fresco, thousands of years old.”
Finding older images under the surface of paintings is not uncommon as the cost of materials or simple convenience often meant artists would paint over older or unsuccessful works. Occasionally, if there are problems with the finished work the older images can seep through as ghostly pentimenti but otherwise need to be discovered using more advanced techniques such as X-ray radiography, UV fluorescence and infrared reflectograms.
“No previous imaging technique, including almost half a dozen commonly used to detect hidden images below paintings, forged signatures of artists and other information not visible on the surface has revealed a lost image in this fresco,” said Jackson.
“This opens to door to wider use of the technology in the world of art, and we also used the method to study a Russian religious icon and the walls of a mud hut in one of humanity’s first settlements in what was ancient Turkey.”
Images: Courtesy J. Bianca Jackson, Ph.D and Dominique Martos-Levif.
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