Metropolitan Museum restorers discover hidden background in 14th century painting Automatic translate

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has posted on its Instagram a stunning set of images of their recent restoration project.

In the religious painting Virgin and Child Enthroned (ca. 1340-1345), attributed to the anonymous Bohemian artist of the 14th century, known as the Master of Vyšší Brod, an artist from the city of Vyšší Brod, was discovered background painted over later.

The painting came to the museum after the Sotheby’s auction in November 2019. X-ray scans showed that the dark blue background with stars, in fact, was added to the painting in the 19th century, and that something else was hidden under it. The painstaking work of removing paint with a scalpel began. As a result, the museum’s restorers discovered a remarkable and original architectural scene under the dark paint.

The real name and details of the biography of the Master from High Brod are not known. He worked in Prague in the 1340s.