Secrets

What goes on behind the closed doors of an artist’s studio? Despite years of study and scientific research, there are still many things we do not know about the production of Old Master paintings.

Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries investigates workshop practices, collaborations, copies and replicas.

Find out about some intriguing works whose secrets defy even the most sophisticated scientific analysis:

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The Virgin and Child with Two Angels

Find out how investigation of this beautiful picture led to a startling new discovery

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An Old Man in an Armchair

This painting shows Rembrandt’s profound influence on his contemporaries. But who painted it?

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Landscape: A River among Mountains

From Italy to the Netherlands and back again – where does this painting really belong?

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The Adoration of the Shepherds

What light can scientific investigation shed on this intimate nocturnal scene?

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The Roman Campagna, with the Claudian Aqueduct

Find out about a puzzling pigment in Corot’s vivid sketch

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The Death of the Virgin

Unpick the intricate relationship between this painting and a lost work by Hugo van der Goes

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The Painter's Father

Was this portrait, presented to Charles I, an original by Dürer, or a copy?

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The Plague at Ashdod

Find out about the intriguing origins of this faithful Poussin copy

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A Dead Soldier

Who painted this powerful depiction of a dead soldier?

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A Woman in a Red Jacket feeding a Parrot

Two nearly identical paintings exist – can you spot the difference?