Close Examination

One of the most intriguing summer exhibitions coming up at The National Gallery in London is Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries, which runs from 30 June until 12 September (title link). This Portrait of Alexander Mornauer (c. 1464-88) was tarted up to look like a Holbein (left). Microscopic paint analysis revealed the NG had been sold a pup. The fraudulent layers of paint were removed to reveal the original painting (right). More than 40 bummers from the NG's hidden collection will go on display in 5 rooms. But it isn't all bad news. The 6th room of the exhibition shows works discovered to be genuine by scientific analysis, such as Raphael's Madonna of the Pinks, rediscovered in 1991.