Reply to Thread

Message:: [QUOTE="2manybooks, post: 4288879, member: 8267"]I really can't see what you see on the back of the canvas, even with the better photograph. You may need a more sophisticated method of enhancing the writing, either through computer manipulation, or different photographic techniques such as infrared photography. David (Davide) Ghirlandaio was an Italian artist of the Renaissance, 1452-1525. (You previously thought it said "David Annunciation".) Linen canvas began to be used as a support for paintings around the year 1500. It is highly unlikely that a canvas from the end of the 15th century would have survived without being lined, at a minimum, which would have covered over any writing that may have been on the canvas originally. So, if the canvas was lined, the writing you are seeing would have been added later. I know you have been interested in learning if the painting you have was painted over another, and it would be a real coup to find a hidden Ghirlandaio. Artists did sometimes use an older canvas to paint their own work on top of. Did you examine the edges to see if there is evidence of the painting having been lined, or been mounted to a stretcher/strainer more than once? A paintings conservator might be able to tell if there is another painting with a careful examination and small samples. One way to determine if there is a hidden painting is to have it x-rayed.[/QUOTE]