IN THE MUSEUM...Looking for a Hidden Masterpiece

People who work in museums often find evidence of a second painting beneath the painting they are looking at. Painters of old often painted over someone else's work - or their own. In most cases, the artists could not afford new canvasses.

"The Crucifixion", shown above left, is by an unknown 17th century Flemish painter. When the head of conservation at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) looked at it, he saw signs of another painting underneath. How do you tell whether the covered painting is an unknown masterpiece?

Usually, the painting is x-rayed. But x-rays only show a blurred double image that does not have enough detail to tell the subject or the creator of the underpainting. The LACMA asked NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to help in seeing the covered painting.

Using technology used to process images from spacecraft, JPL developed a method for separating the two x-ray images. These computer programs "subtract" the top painting from the bottom, so the hidden painting can be seen in greater detail.

In the case of "The Crucifixion", another 17th century painting was found. If you look at the painting shown to the right, you can see a man's face (to the left-center of the painting). To the man's left is a woman sitting with her right arm propped on a table.

Though in this case no hidden masterpiece was discovered, art museums now have an option when trying to decipher the works covered up by yesterday's artists.