The Uffizi Galleries in Florence say an X-ray examination of a painting by Artemisia Gentileschi has revealed hidden artwork by the Baroque master.
Infrared, ultraviolet and X-ray analyses of the painting, which depicts St. Catherine of Alexandria, have uncovered a partial self-portrait underneath that’s “virtually identical” to another Gentileschi painting recently acquired by London’s National Gallery.
The Uffizi, which owns five Gentileschi paintings, said the analyses strongly indicate that in depicting the saint, Gentileschi combined self-portrait details with a portrait of a noblewoman.
An admirer of Caravaggio, Gentileschi won rare success as a woman in the male-dominated 17th-century art world. She frequently depicted strong female heroines.