15th-Century Icon – Modern Study Replica

15th-Century Icon – Modern Study Replica

15th-Century Icon – Modern Study Replica

This tempera painting, created in the 20th century, is a study replica of a typical Italian Renaissance or late Medieval Madonna and Child enthroned, flanked by two angels. The work is set in a golden arched frame, a format commonly seen in 14th–15th century Italian panel paintings, especially within the Florentine and Sienese schools. Artists such as Fra Angelico (early 15th c., Florence), Lorenzo Monaco (bridging the Gothic and Renaissance styles), Bicci di Lorenzo, and other workshop painters often produced similar devotional panels with gilded backgrounds.
CHSOS Collection – item #29

Technical Photography

  • UVF (Ultraviolet Fluorescence): Reveals a number of retouches that appear completely dark, consistent with the relatively recent materials used in restoration.

  • UVR (Reflected Ultraviolet): The same retouches are visible here but appear bright, as they reflect more UV light.

  • IR (Infrared): Shows the underdrawing, a fundamental stage in the painting process of the time. The copyist artist carefully reproduced not only the look of the original but also its traditional techniques, beginning with a white preparatory layer and a soft carbon-pencil drawing.

  • IRF (Infrared Fluorescence): Perhaps the most revealing image, it highlights the presence of modern cadmium yellow used for some of the highlights.

15th-Century Icon – Modern Study Replica VIS15th-Century Icon – Modern Study Replica UVF
15th-Century Icon – Modern Study Replica VIS15th-Century Icon – Modern Study Replica UVR
15th-Century Icon – Modern Study Replica VISIR
15th-Century Icon – Modern Study Replica VIS15th-Century Icon – Modern Study Replica IRF

Infrared Reflectography (IRR)

The painting was analyzed with our InGaAs camera covering the 900-1700 nm range. In this farthest infrared some pigments could become more transparent and revealing more underdrawing. This is the case for example with azurite, but for most of the pigments the IR photo is often enough and no much more is detected with an IRR camera.
IRR is particularly useful in the case of panel painting, when the Transmitted Infrared method (IRT) can’t be applied since we do not have a semi-transparent support. For most of the painting on canvas, IRT provides even better results than IRR.  

This acquisition was done using VALERIA, our Panoramic head for Infrared Reflectography. 

IRR madonna and child
The underdrawing of the hand is already visible in the IR photograph. In the IRR image, the contrast is higher, but the information revealed remains essentially the same.
In the Madonna’s face as well, the underdrawing is already visible in the IR photograph. The IRR image offers higher contrast (see the line for the nose), but the information revealed remains essentially the same. Notably, the blue mantle appears significantly more transparent: this pigment is clearly much more transparent in the far-infrared range than in the standard IR photo.
The greater transparency of the blue in the mantle in the IRR image allows us to see a line that is otherwise invisible in the standard IR photograph.
The greater transparency of the blue in the mantle in the IRR image allows us to see a line that is otherwise invisible in the standard IR photograph.
Training 2026

Scientific Art Examination – Resources:
Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) – USA
The British Museum – Scientific Research Department – UK
Scientific Research Department – The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
C2RMF (Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France) – France
Rijksmuseum – Science Department – Netherlands