"Since its arrival in the Vatican, the work had never undergone restoration or scientific studies. Having therefore noted some conservation problems during a routine check-up, it was decided to carry out a complete restoration to verify its general state of preservation and study its execution technique."
"All the data, compared with that of other paintings by the artist, confirmed that the work was entirely authentic. Upon closer inspection, restorers realized that an unknown forger had obscured the painting's original Christ figure with their own rendition."
The Vatican revealed a newly discovered El Greco painting titled The Redeemer, dating to approximately 1590-95, which had been hidden beneath a later forgery. The small oil on board work was donated to Pope Paul VI in 1967 by Spanish official José María Sánchez de Muniaán Gil and hung in the Hall of Ambassadors for decades without restoration or scientific examination. During routine conservation checks, restorers Alessandra Zarelli and Paolo Violini identified an unknown forger's overpainting obscuring El Greco's original Christ figure. Upon removal of the forgery, the team recovered the artist's authentic layers and confirmed the work's authenticity through comparative analysis with other El Greco paintings. The rediscovered masterpiece now appears in a two-artwork exhibition titled "El Greco in the Mirror: Two Paintings in Dialogue" at the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo.
Read at Artnet News
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